Tales of an Uncertain Future
by Enthriex
Summary: An Osomatsu-kun AU taking place when the boys are 10 years old. Desperate and gradually suffering by despair, reality turns for the worse when several traumatic events start happening in their lives... and how to cope when the only hope that apparently exists... begins to crumble under the pressure...? Hurt/Comfort, Psychological, Violence, Abuse, etc
1. Shield

Hi there! This is my first Osomatsu fanfic, the story takes place when the boys are 10 years old... the boys act different here since it's from when they are young, I know that in Osomatsu-kun they acted mostly the same but I'll be interpreting them in a way that they can be identified a bit with their osomatsu-san versions. (Their attitudes will vary since they haven't gone through all the stuff the 20 year olds already went through)

It's not an AU explaining exactly what happened to them to end like in Osomatsu-san but an AU explaining what would have happened if certain events did and others didn't... how they would end up like.

Ps. One more thing, there are unknown characters involved in this fanfic but these are not OCs, these were featured in the Osomatsu-kun comics 8D just that in the story they'll be given a special interpretaion as well as a name since even when I did my research... I found few things and these were also nameless except for one character that will be mentioned whose name is official and well... 'Tougou' doesn't count here of course :V he'll appear but he's known by many.

 **Final Note:** This story is a translation from my spanish one so the chapters will be coming out after the spanish versions are uploaded.

 **Chapter 1. Shield**

It was a lovely morning, the sextuplets were still asleep and they weren't planning to wake up for some more time, of course, until their door was opened with force showing a pretty happy mother, she had planned taking her sons to a picnic at the park along with her husband, she had planned today to be a really special and fun day for everyone.

"Boys, time to wake up!" the mother shouted as she saw them sleeping, as she saw how they paid no attention to her, she decided to change her method. "Osomatsu, Karamatsu, Choromatsu, Ichimatsu, Jyushimatsu, Todomatsu! If you are not waking up I won't give you breakfast!"

"Eh?!" everyone shouted in synch, it was really cruel of her to threaten them to not give them breakfast. However, they knew how she was and that it was basically impossible for her to not feed them so they calmed down and went back to sleep. Their mother didn't understand what was going on, why had they gone back to sleep? Wasn't it enough to threaten them with breakfast? What else would work? Matsuyo stayed thinking for some moments and remembered something important about her sons: their lazyness.

"Okay, you can stay asleep. I'll be leaving with your dad to buy some things so the kitchen will be free so anyone that feels like it can use the stove to heat the food I left for you" said Matsuyo as she was about to leave, however, the kids quickly got up and ran to the kitchen. Matsuyo smiled satisfied, her strategy had worked really well.

Matsuyo walked towards the kitchen while watching how the kids waited for their breakfast in the other room. The boys were sitting around the table really eager to eat.

"Hmm... I can't stop thinking that we were fooled" said Choromatsu after seeing how his mother disappeared into the kitchen.

"Maybe so but I wasn't going to heat my food later" said Osomatsu as he laughed.

"That's probably what mom thought" said Choromatsu after listening to his brother's reply. "It's bad that she aimed at our weakness..."

"Do you mean how lazy we are? We still had to get up sooner or later" said Todomatsu "But yes, it was really clever of her"

"Ah... I wanted to keep sleeping..." said Ichimatsu "My bed was so comfy..."

"I agree with you but I was kind of hungry anyway" said Karamatsu.

"Hmm, mom said she was going out... do you guys think she'll take her time to come back?" asked Jyushimatsu sounding worried somehow.

"Maybe" said Choromatsu in response to his brother's question "Why?"

"Ah, it's just that I was planning to go play baseball, but... if we are going to be left in charge of the house then I guess I won't be able to..." said Jyushimatsu.

"Don't worry about that, that's normally Osomatsu's and Choromatsu's responsability" said Todomatsu.

"Ah! You are right" said Jyushimatsu really happy to hear that, the other two siblings tried to argue back but at that moment, Matsuyo came in with the food so they forgot about it completely.

"Oh, cool!" exclaimed everyone as they saw how their mother laid out the food on the table.

"Boys, we are planning to go on a picnic later so we have to go out to buy some things" said Matsuyo "I have a list of other things I want you to buy, anyone can go but I need someone to stay in charge of the house"

"Osomatsu and Choromatsu will stay, mom" said Todomatsu before anyone else could say something. He didn't want to stay in the house, there was nothing to do after all.

"Hey! I don't want to stay here!" said Osomatsu and Choromatsu at the same time.

"It's good to know that the eldest want to stay to take care of the house, of course, I appreciate that the others want to help their mom" said Matsuyo to the other boys who were laughing at the others disgrace.

"But mom, Karamatsu is older!" said Choromatsu clearly not okay with that decision.

"You know what I mean, son, thanks for being the reliable ones" said Matsuyo "Anyway, I'll be back later to cook, take care of the house"

"But... but..." Choromatsu tried to find an excuse but failed miserably.

"We'll see you boys later, have fun" said Matsuzo as he left with his wife.

"Ugh..." Choromatsu wasn't happy with what had just happened, Osomatsu had remained silent since it was typical that he was told to stay and watch the house.

"It's nice that our responsible brothers stay, Jyushimatsu, let's go play baseball" said Ichimatsu while staring mockingly at his two brothers that were returning the stare clearly unamused.

"Yeah! Yeah! Let's play baseball!" said Jyushimatsu really excited. The four kids left their dishes at the sink and then went back to where Osomatsu and Choromatsu were.

"I think you are forgetting that you have to buy the stuff mom asked for" said Choromatsu jealous that they were going to play outside instead of staying in.

"Huh? We didn't forget" said Ichimatsu as he then looked at Karamatsu and Todomatsu "It's just that Karamatsu and Todomatsu are the ones that will buy those"

"Eh?" both Todo and Kara murmured after hearing that "What are you talking about? You guys are coming to the store as well"

"But..." Ichimatsu murmured. Jyushimatsu looked at him and smiled to then nod agreeing with the other two. "Jyushimatsu..."

"Think about it, we promised mom that we'd go for her things... besides, it's not like we'll stay here with nothing to do" said Jyushimatsu making Choromatsu feel how he was thrown rocks at. Ichimatsu smiled at this.

"You are right. Okay, let's go then" said Ichimatsu as he went to the entrance. "We'll see you guys later" the four of them bid them farewell and without losing any time, they disappeared leaving their two unlucky brothers behind.

"Wow... I can't believe this, how horrible! I don't have anything to do here!" said Choromatsu while holding his head in desperation.

"Hmmm... you could wash the dishes" said Osomatsu letting out a small chuckle.

"I can't believe mom thinks we don't want to help her, it was those four that made us stay" Choromatsu kept complaining while Osomatsu watched him clearly bored.

"If you wash the dishes, mom will surely be thankful" said Osomatsu trying to give ideas to his brother... but after seeing he didn't really care about the options he suggested, he just stopped bothering.

"What can I do now? I don't want to wait here until they come back! I'll die!" said Choromatsu as he paced around the room really upset "Next time I'll nominate them to stay"

"Choromatsu, calm down, it's not like this is something new" said Osomatsu.

"What are you talking about? You are the eldest, obviously it's normal for you but... Karamatsu is older than me! I don't have a reason to stay! Besides, I doubt those four will buy the things mom asked for, it's probable that they'll get something wrong or forget something" said Choromatsu.

"Choro, even though Karamatsu is older, it's a fact that we are always made to stay, get used to it"

"But I don't want to get used to it..." said Choromatsu "It's boring"

"Choro, if you are so bored, why don't you do something productive and clean the house or something?"

"What? You are kidding... right? Come on, let's watch some TV" said Choromatsu as he took the dishes from the table to then take them to the sink and return back to where his brother was. "There's probably something interesting!"

Osomatsu watched how he left, TV? Well, at least it was something more than just stay sitting there and wait for them to be back. Osomatsu got up and followed the third brother to watch TV.

 **xXxXxXxXx**

Karamatsu and Todomatsu were looking for the things on the list at the store while Ichimatsu and Jyushimatsu played with a shopping cart, Ichimatsu was inside and Jyushimatsu was the one pushing... seems they didn't really care to look for the things they were sent to buy.

"Seems they don't have a hard time showing their lack of interest" said Todomatsu. Karamatsu laughed while listening to his brother.

"At least they came with us, they were about to leave a while ago" said Karamatsu. Todomatsu turned to see them a little confused and then shifted his attention back to Karamatsu.

"Well... if I think about it, we can make them help mom cook and we can excuse ourselves saying we did the shopping" said Todomatsu "I'm not interested in cooking"

"Eh? But I did want to help mom..." Karamatsu was a bit down after hearing Todomatsu.

"Nobody says you can't help her, I'm just saying I can use this as an excuse to not help later" said Todomatsu.

"You don't want to help mom?" Karamatsu looked at his brother while arching a brow.

"Hey, the weird one here is you, not me" said Todomatsu "You always want to help, Karamatsu"

"That's not true, sometimes I want to do other things..." said Karamatsu. Todomatsu rolled his eyes after hearing that.

"It's not like you have to feel bad because you want to help... it's just that you'll probably end up doing their part" said Todomatsu referring to Ichimatsu and Jyushimatsu.

"Ah, that... I don't really mind" said Karamatsu completely honest.

"How can you say that?! You don't care that they are just fooling around?!" he shouted while pointing to the other two who had stopped the cart to wave at them.

"No, not really" said Karamatsu. Todomatsu had to squint at him since he swore that his brother was shinning too much for his liking.

"It's okay, it's okay, I get it... let's just continue gathering the things mom needs" said Todomatsu trying to ignore that his brother had just made him feel bad for not being so helpful.

The boys finished buying the things on the list, Todomatsu and Karamatsu called the other two since they were leaving. Jyushimatsu stopped and helped Ichimatsu out from the cart, they then followed them.

They walked for a while making jokes and mentioning the fact of Osomatsu and Choromatsu staying behind, they were thinking on going straight home until Karamatsu stopped suddenly, he had remembered they were missing something from the list.

"Oh no..." Karamatsu checked the list again while looking worried.

"What's wrong?" asked Todomatsu.

"It seems we forgot to buy fish..." said Karamatsu. Todomatsu sighed already mentalizing himself that they had to go back.

"Hmm... you two are really careless" said Ichimatsu. Todomatsu and Karamatsu frowned at him because of his comment but Ichimatsu just ignored them.

"Okay then, let's go back!" Jyushimatsu said as he turned around to walk back to the store.

"Hmmm..." Karamatsu looked around, he wanted an alternative as to avoid going all the way back. "Oh! Look! There's a small shop near the dock, they'll surely sell fish" said the boy with a smile, everything was better than having to go back... of course if it was necessary then he'd go back without an issue.

"Oh, it's true, I hadn't seen that place but it surely has fish" said Todomatsu as he followed Karamatsu to the shop. Ichimatsu asked Jyushimatsu who was walking away to come back and then joined the other two.

"Hi! Can I have three of the most fresh?" Karamatsu showed the list to the man running the place. The man smiled and prepeared the mentioned types on the list to then hand them packed to the boy. Once that was done with, Karamatsu turned around to the dock and saw his brothers throwing stones. "Hey, we need to go back soon"

"Wait, Karamatsu, this is fun" said Todomatsu while competing against his brothers, they were seeing who could throw a stone the farthest.

"I'm not doubting you are having fun but the fish and the things..." Karamatsu was a little worried that they could spoil.

"We're coming, we're coming, let us play for a while though, we won't take long" said Ichimatsu. Karamatsu sighed and decided to give them time to play, he wanted to play too but since he was responsible for taking the food back home he couldn't just drop them anywhere. The young one couldn't do anything but look for a place where to sit, he sat somewhere on the dock and waited for them to finish playing.

"Ahh... I don't want the things to spoil.." said Karamatsu to himself.

"Hmm, quadruplets eh" said the voice coming from the person near him that was fishing. Karamatsu turned to see him, curiosity in his eyes.

"Yes that's right, although we are actually six" said Karamatsu to the man near him.

"Six? Hm, seems you have a party at home everyday" said the man.

"Ah, well yes, we are actually pretty noisy" said Karamatsu to the man as he was fishing.

"And as I see, you're having a feast, aren't you?"

"Yes, we'll be having a picnic later in the day with our parents" said Karamatsu happy that he could kill time talking with someone.

"I see, a special occasion?"

"Not really... or not that I know, just a normal picnic day I suppose" said Karamatsu.

"It's nice that families spend time together like that, it's ideal to have a healthy relationship with those you love" said the man.

"Hehe, yes, I think the same way... by the way, who are you?" asked Karamatsu.

"My name is Toshiaki, it's a pleasure, little one" said the man who seemed to be smiling all the time. "What's your name?"

"I see, my name is Karamatsu"

Back with his brothers, Todomatsu, Ichimatsu and Jyushimatsu kept throwing stones trying to get them to go as far as they could, at the moment they didn't know what was happening with their other brother and they weren't really interested since they were more into having fun... still, some time later, when Ichimatsu turned around to see in another direction, he could see Karamatsu talking to a very strange man... he then decided commenting it with the others.

"Hey guys... Karamatsu is talking to a very strange man" said Ichimatsu. The other two turned to see him and watched how Karamatsu talked excitedly with that stranger. "Should it worry us?"

"I don't know... maybe yes..." said Todomatsu "It's a little weird that a man like that talks to a boy our age..."

"Aren't you guys exaggerating? I think he might be a kind man that is distracting him while we play..." said Jyushimatsu then noticing how wrong it sounded "Well, maybe we already made him wait too much..."

Karamatsu kept talking to the man he had just met, he was telling him how Jyushimatsu and Ichimatsu were playing at the store, how they had left their other two brothers at home waiting for them and how he had to wait for his brothers to finish with their little contest.

"I see you boys get along really nicely" said Toshiaki. "One would think that with so many identical brothers you would live fighting each other"

"And it is like that sometimes but not all the time, I love my brothers very much, I don't know what I'd do without them" said Karamatsu, as he had said this, the other three appeared with a relatively serious attitude.

"Karamatsu, we need to go back already" said Todomatsu as he held one of the shopping bags that were on the dock. "They're probably getting impatient"

"Oh, okay, that's fine" said Karamatsu as he got up and took the other shopping bag. "Thanks for making me conversation, it was nice to meet you, Toshiaki-san"

"No problem, little one, have a lot of fun" said Toshiaki while the kids took off.

 **xXxXxXxXx**

Once they were some distance away from the dock, the brothers decided to exteriorize their doubts about that weird stranger.

"Karamatsu... who was that man?" asked Jyushimatsu before the others.

"Toshiaki-san, he apparently comes once in a while to this dock to fish" said Karamatsu without really satisfying his brothers discomfort.

"Karamatsu... what were you two talking so much about?" asked Todomatsu.

"We didn't really talk much since you guys didn't take as much as I thought you would but I told him we were having a picnic later" said Karamatsu with an innocent smile, the others turned to see each other now truly worried.

"I don't think it's a good idea to tell our plans to people you just met..." said Ichimatsu.

"Hmm? Why not? I didn't have anything to talk about and you guys were distracted with something else" said Karamatsu without understanding the issue.

"He's a stranger, Karamatsu..." said Jyushimatsu concerned by his reply, he had also thought it wasn't anything bad until he thought about it and noticed how the situation wasn't normal.

"But he was really friendly... you shouldn't worry so much, it's not like I invited him to the picnic"

"Karamatsu! That's not the point!" Todomatsu was now irritated at how oblivious his brother was.

"You didn't tell him where we live, right?" Ichimatsu asked him while staring at him suspiciously. Karamatsu stopped walking and stared at them instead looking really confused, why were they acting so weird?

"Hey... why are you guys acting this way? You never take things like that" said Karamatsu "I've seen Jyushimatsu talking to adults and get lollipops from them and no one says anything"

"Jyushimatsu knows what he is doing" said Todomatsu "Besides, all those adults that give him candy are old ladies... if a man like the one you were talking to did that then we would be concerned"

"I think you are being too superficial... he is a kind person, he just talked to me while you guys played" Karamatsu frowned at them.

"Karamatsu, we'll be honest with you... we believe you are too naive" said Ichimatsu while staring angrily at him .

"Naive? But I'm older than you guys, I can't be naive" said Karamatsu, the others shook their head in denial to that statement.

"It should be that way but you really are too naive and you open yourself too easily, it's really concerning" said Todomatsu.

"But that's what I don't understand... what did I do wrong? It's true that I don't know him but you'll never know if a person is nice or not if you don't get to know them" said Karamatsu.

"Exactly and you really don't know him yet" said Ichimatsu "Of course, you won't get to know him so you can't say he is a good person"

"What? You guys can't order me around, if I wanted to see him again it's my problem" said Karamatsu. He really wasn't thinking on seeing him again but that his brothers were acting that way made him say those things.

"What? You´re not seeing him again, are you?" asked Jyushimatsu a little worried.

"No, I won't" said Karamatsu "He was only a stranger that made nice conversation, you guys are the ones making this into something bigger"

"Oh... I see! Then we did overreact" said Jyushimatsu "Remember mom said to not talk to strangers"

Karamatsu stared at Jyushimatsu, the slight irritation he felt had vanished once he remembered what his mother said and when he understood his brothers were just protecting him.

"So it was that, haha, I suppose I would have worried too" said Karamatsu "Anyway, let's hurry home" the others nodded after abandoning the subject of the strange man. Karamatsu, however, had liked the man, he didn't think it was so bad no matter what his brothers said and honestly he wouldn't mind running into him again.

 **xXxXxXxXx**

The boys went back after a short while, they were wondering what would Osomatsu and Choromatsu be doing. Could their parents be back already? Would their home be a mess?

"We are back!" shouted Jyushimatsu as he waited for anyone to reply back. Karamatsu went ahead into the kitchen along with Todomatsu to put the things in the fridge meanwhile Ichimatsu had stayed with Jyushimatsu. "Ah, could it be they aren't home?"

"Well, they better be, they were in charge of the house after all" said Ichimatsu "In my opinion, they are probably watching TV or something like that"

"Hmm, yes, you are right, they probably didn't hear because of that" said Jyushimatsu to then go in and greet his brothers again. " Osomatsu, we are back!"

"Shh, Osomatsu fell asleep" said Choro as the other two walked inside and looked at their older brother sleep.

"Hmm, it's odd that you care" said Ichimatsu a bit confused.

"I care when i don't want to talk to anybody and asleep he doesn't bother me" said Choromatsu.

"That's weird... did you guys fight?" Jyushimatsu asked "You normally get along really well"

"It's not that, I just wasn't into talking when watching TV"

"Osomatsu rarely speaks while watching TV... although he does make comments now and then when we are all watching" said Jyushimatsu.

"That's..." Choromatsu murmured without knowing what to say. Ichimatsu remained thinking for some moments before coming up with an idea of what was happening.

"Choromatsu, there's nothing wrong in you not wanting to bother him" said Ichimatsu believing that his brother was just embarrassed to admit he didn't want to wake him up.

"Ah... I really don't care but for some reason I just don't want to wake him up" said Choromatsu "We didn't have anything to do so if he wanted to sleep then it was fine"

"I suppose some times you are a good person" said Jyushimatsu as he laughed.

"Hey! I'm always a good person!" exclaimed Choromatsu.

"Not really, but I suppose you aren't so bad either" said Ichimatsu to Choromatsu who just pouted annoyed.

"Whatever... Osomatsu, the others are back" said Choromatsu while kicking Osomatsu lightly. Jyushimatsu and Ichimatsu wondered what had been all that show if he really didn't care if he woke him up.

"Uh... what?" Osomatsu said groggily as he rubbed his eyes trying to regain steady eyesight. "Ah, guys, I see you are back... I was already bored of watching TV"

"Yes, yes, it was fun" said Jyushimatsu "Although we still need to play baseball" Osomatsu and Choromatsu remained staring while frowning at them.

"You are not going to leave without us... right?" said Osomatsu "I also want to play baseball!"

"I'm just fed up with waiting here without doing much... I don't think I can stand it anymore" said Choromatsu sounding really frustrated.

"Hmm..." Jyushimatsu stayed pondering something in silence "Okay, I think it wouldn't be so bad to wait for mom and dad"

"Cool! Thanks, Jyushimatsu!" said Osomatsu with a grin from ear to ear. Ichimatsu looked at Jyushimatsu incredulously.

"Hey... are you sure? You've been wanting to play for some time now" said Ichimatsu making his brother nod right away.

"It's okay, we can all play when we go to the park" said Jyushimatsu "There's nothing wrong in waiting some more"

"Yes...I guess you are right" said Ichimatsu while smiling slightly. Todomatsu and Karamatsu came in a little bit later and sat near their brothers.

"Oh, how was it guys?" asked Osomatsu.

"It was fine, nothing really new" said Karamatsu "Of course, a lot better than staying here and not doing anything"

"Well, Ichimatsu and Jyushimatsu were playing with one of the shopping carts, they didn't help at all" said Todomatsu while looking at the other two who laughed nervously after hearing that.

"Haha, sorry" both Ichimatsu and Jyushimatsu apologized.

"Although we forgot to buy fish so we went to a shop near where we were" said Todomatsu.

"Near the dock, I'm sure it's really fresh and even better than any other from the usual store we go to" said Karamatsu.

"Let's hope mom likes it" said Choromatsu "Wouldn't like seeing her angry"

"Don't worry, I showed the list to the man who was in charge so I doubt I got something that wasn't what mom asked for" said Karamatsu really proud of himself.

"Although, Osomatsu, Karamatsu was talking to a really strange man" Todomatsu confessed. Karamatsu wasn't happy of being accused like this.

"Huh? What do you mean?" both Choromatsu and Osomatsu asked.

"It wasn't anything important, I don't even think it's worth mentioning it" said Karamatsu trying to make it sound like something trivial.

"I actually think it is relevant, you are too naive for your own good" said Ichimatsu.

"I think you are exaggerating, Karamatsu said he wasn't going to talk to him again" said Jyushimatsu "I don't think he needs more lectures"

"Wait, Jyushimatsu, now I do wanna know what happened" Osomatsu said as he gestured the others to sit in a circle to talk about it.

"But..." karamatsu wondered the reason they were going to cover the subject again. "It was nothing..."

"Karamatsu, what happened?" Osomatsu asked while staring suspiciously at him.

"I was talking to a man that was sitting near where the others were playing... it's not a big deal" said Karamatsu.

"Playing?" questioned Choromatsu, they had been playing? Hadn't they said they had just gone buy the stuff and that's it?... although, honestly, it wasn't that surprising to hear.

"Yeah, we were throwing stones" said Ichimatsu "It was after a bit that I turned around and saw that Karamatsu was talking to that man"

"Uhh... well, I don't think it was that bad, someone made him conversation while he waited for you guys... I mean, you were playing, weren't you?" said Osomatsu.

"Yeah, now that you say it... it doesn't sound so bad" said Choromatsu in a contemplative state.

"See! I knew you guys were exaggerating! Besides, I only told him a few things about you all" said Karamatsu trying to defend himself... although this last bit had just succeded to worsen his situation.

"What?! You told him stuff about us?!" Todomatsu was really angry and scared.

"It's still irrelevant... why would you guys worry like that?" Osomatsu asked really curious.

"Why? Why does that worry us? It was an old man with a suspicious appearance and permanent smile... and Karamatsu was talking happily with him" said Todomatsu "He even told him about the picnic!"

"Todomatsu, as I said, it was just a man that talked to Karamatsu casually... it's nothing bad" said Osomatsu.

"Eh? Osomatsu... how can you say that... you'd understand if you saw him!" Todomatsu exclaimed.

"But that's the point, Todomatsu, it's basically impossible for that to happen... it's a man that he won't ever see again" said Osomatsu sounding really uninterested... wow, his brothers did worry about unnecessary stuff. How dangerous could it be? "You guys sound like if old people scared you"

"It's not that they scare us... we just know who is okay and who isn't... besides, mom told us not to speak with strangers" said Todomatsu.

"It wouldn't be the first time... hey, stop making this bigger than it is" said Osomatsu "And also, you almost never listen to mom!"

"Hmmm... Toshiaki-san said he goes time to time to that place to fish" said Karamatsu. "He said we could fish again some other day... but it's not like I plan on seeing him again but I just mention it so you see it's still nothing weird, he was really friendly when we talked" he added while wondering how that'd go when he didn't know how to fish.

"Toshiaki-san...?" murmured Choromatsu "Is that the name of the man you were talking to?"

"That's right" said Karamatsu simply. Todomatsu, Ichimatsu and Jyushimatsu were staring at him horrified and worried whereas Osomatsu just looked at him confused.

"Karamatsu... did he ask your name?" Osomatsu didn't know what to think about the situation, on one hand he thought he was exaggerating like his other siblings but on the other he thought there was something fishy about the situation.

"Yes, it's true, but... wouldn't you ask the person you are talking to for their name? I think it's important to know that" said Karamatsu.

"Not if I'm not planning to see them again..." said Osomatsu while squinting at him. It was one thing to talk to the man for a while and not see him again, but... in what kind of temporal conversation people introduce each other?"Karamatsu, tell me the truth, are you thinking on seeing him again?"

"Eh? I already said no! I was just curious to know his name and it's true he asked me for mine but..."

"He asked you first?" Osomatsu asked with no particular expression on his face.

"No, I was the one who asked first, is that a crime?" Karamatsu was genuinely confused.

"Karamatsu, I can't really know what to think about that but for what I understand... I think you shouldn't get close to that man" said Osomatsu

"What...? But you just said they were exaggerating..."

"Yeah since I thought they were making this situation bigger than it was, I though you were thinking on seeing him but I think this is not the case" said Osomatsu.

"But it is true, I don't think on seeing him again, he was just kind to me..." said Karamatsu somehow tired of the subject, there was no way to change their mind.

"We believe in you but remember what mom said... it isn't nice to be talking alone with people we don't know" said Jyushimatsu trying to be understanding, he had thought his brother had enough with the lecture but it was true Karamatsu was behaving in a concerning way.

"But it wasn't a bad conversation..." said Karamatsu while feeling down. Jyushimatsu smiled after seeing his frustration so he tried a different approach.

"We are worried, we don't want something happening to you, do you think you can consider our side?" Jyushimatsu asked with all the patience in the world and with the best smile he could offer him. Karamatsu looked at him and smiled the same way Jyushimatsu was doing, he understood once more that his brothers were just protecting him, he felt kind of bad now that he was trying to defend someone he barely knew.

"Oh... well, it's true, I shouldn't go around talking to people... although I wasn't thinking on talking to him, he was the first one to talk to me... he was really interested in the fact we were sextuplets" said Karamatsu frightening the other five.

"Karamatsu! You have to realize that man isn't normal! Stop answering to everything people ask you!" Ichimatsu shouted really irritated. "You better not have said where we live!" Ichimatsu grabbed him from his t-shirt and shook him. "You didn't, did you?" Karamatsu kept silence as he remembered he was about to do so before the others interrupted.

"Uhmm... no, I didn't" said Karamatsu a little nervous.

"But you were about to tell him... weren't you?" Ichimatsu said. "It's really dangerous to give that kind of information! Don't involve us as well!"

"Ah!" Karamatsu realized his mistake after his brother shouting "It's true... sorry, it won't happen again"

"Okay... as long as you understand" said Ichimatsu while releasing him. "And stop talking to weird people, if they talk to you just cut them off"

"What? I can't do that! That's rude!" Karamatsu replied. Ichimatsu held his face while feeling a lot of frustration... how could his brother be so stupid?

As they both argued, the other five wondered if Karamatsu was a lost case and if he needed to be watched but Jyushimatsu mentioned that after that conversation, he was sure Karamatsu would desist from his apparent curiosity the man caused him... with luck.

After a while of both Ichimatsu and Karamatsu arguing, Matsuyo and Matsuzo came back home with the shopping. All of the siblings stopped talking about the subject as to not worry their parents, they were thinking to do something if Karamatsu tried talking to the man again. Matsuyo had asked for help from the brothers to cook, Jyushimatsu, Karamatsu and Osomatsu had offered their help, Osomatsu was really bored, Jyushimatsu felt bad for not helping at all with the shopping and Karamatsu who really wanted to help because of his fondness for cooking. Matsuzo had said that once the cooking was over then they would head to the park.

 **xXxXxXxXx**

Ichimatsu, Todomatsu and Choromatsu remained around the table in complete silence, they didn't know what to think about what had just happened. Ichimatsu had wanted to help his mom to cook but since his stupid brother was with her he then had given up on the idea, he didn't want to see him as long as he was mad at him.

"That idiot of Karamatsu..." Ichimatsu murmured as he tried containing the anger he still had left.

"We understand, Ichimatsu, we understand" said Choromatsu "It's a bit difficult making him see that these kind of things aren't okay"

"He is too good of a person to understand" Todomatsu added "Although I'd say that in this case he is just being an airhead"

"No, you guys don't understand..." Ichimatsu was keeping a detail that had disturbed him more than normal.

"Eh? What do you mean? Is there a reason you are bothered more than usual?" Choromatsu asked.

"I was waiting to see if someone mentioned it and I was going to do it but I didn't know if it was stupid to mention it... but it won't stop giving me shivers when I remember" Ichimatsu said making the other two looking between curious and baffled.

"Ichimatsu, I don't think it's that big of a problem, we just know he was a weird man but it's not like he had done something specially-" Todomatsu said before being interrupted by Ichimatsu.

"He had a piece of rope around his neck" said Ichimatsu simply. Todomatsu and Choromatsu kept silent after hearing that.

"What..? Ichimatsu... are you sure about that?" Todomatsu asked now newly alarmed.

"Ichimatsu... are you sure you didn't see things? Why would he have a rope around his neck?" Choromatsu asked without being able to fully understad.

"I don't know, that's what bothers me the most... I don't know what to think about that rope, I just know that it can't mean anything good" Ichimatsu said. The other two were about to say something until their father entered the room to sit with them as they waited.

"Ah... such a good day, ready for the picnic?" he asked in a really good humor.

"Yeah..." everyone said not really motivated, they were still thinking on what Ichimatsu had mentioned.

"Hmm? Boys, you don't sound really motivated" said Matsuzo "Did something happen?"

"Hey dad..." Ichimatsu started saying, the other two looked at him surprised, would he tell him? "Ehm..."

"What is it, Ichimatsu?"

"Do you know what it means that a person has a rope around their neck?" asked Ichimatsu.

"A rope around the neck? Hmmm... normally it means the person is trying to commit suicide, no?" their dad said as he thought on what other way that could be used for. "It could be to hang people, but... why would that person have it around their own neck? Wow, I just had this mental picture of someone walking with that, hahah, maybe they just like how it looks... or maybe he or she was walking to their death?"

"Hang people...?" the boys murmured clearly frightened, could it be the man hung people?

"Why do you ask?"

"Oh no, I just remember seeing something like that in a comic" said Ichimatsu trying to avoid the real reason.

"A comic?" their dad wanted to know more about the matter since it was a really strange character,

"Yeah, in it an old man was fishing and had a rope around his neck" said Ichimatsu "I didn't know what to think when I saw that page"

"Oh! Now I understand, an old man huh... he may have tried to fish with that rope or maybe he forgot it around his neck, comics are really weird" said Matsuzo "Although, he may have tried hanging himself, maybe he couldn't die and after that went fishing hahah, weird isn´t it?"

"Wow..." the three murmured finding interesting the way their father saw things. The three of them stayed thinking about it for some moments but shortly after dropped the subject to not make their dad start suspecting.

Ichimatsu, Todomatsu and Choromatsu remained talking between them and with their dad as they waited for the food, they were still bothered by that but they couldn't keep interpreting things, they could only hope that strange man wouldn't appear again and that Karamatsu didn't run into him.

 **xXxXxXxXx**

The Matsuno family went out ready for the picnic, Osomatsu, Karamatsu and Jyushimatsu were in a pretty good mood after forgetting the subjet by helping their mom whereas Todomatsu, Choromatsu and Ichimatsu were in process of forgetting it, they had to since it wasn't pleasant to be thinking about that while being with everyone. Their parents would know about this and... it wasn't so bad unless their brother ran into him again, right?

After reaching the park they looked for a calm place and with a lot of space to run since the brothers wanted to play baseball, it was a nice way to forget unpleasant subjects. Their parents organized everything meanwhile the boys hurried to the field to play, Jyushimatsu was the most excited about it. Their parents watched them play with a smile, they were waiting for them to come back after a while of play so they could all eat together, so, in the meantime they were talking to each other and commenting about the other families and couples around the place.

The sextuples remained playing peacefully for around an hour, luckily that had helped to forget about the man from before and they were back to their usual selves. Time after, they ran to where their parents were and sat down to talk and eat, the picnic had been a great idea. The boys were talking about how the day had gone for them whereas the parents had told them how had it gone while looking for the ingredients, Jyushimatsu mentioned how he would like to play baseball with his parents as well so their parents decided to join them; it was a really wonderful day after all.

After eating, the Matsuno family went to the field where they were playing previously and started to play again, Matsuzo seemed to be a bit clumsy as he failed to hit the majority of the balls that were thrown at him whereas Matsuyo managed to hit the balls in a decent way if not good, the brothers found it funny that their mom was better than their dad but somehow they already knew that.

It was Jyushimatsu's turn to hit the balls, he was really excited to be playing with his family, he wanted more days to play with everyone like this. It was really fun! Jyushimatsu hit the ball and this one flew out of sight, the siblings stared at Jyushimatsu a little angry that he had done that... not really mad but they didn't want to go look for it.

"Haha, I'm sorry" said Jyushimatsu "I'll go look for it" he was about to go when Ichimatsu then started running after it. "Ichimatsu?"

"Jyushimatsu, I'll go look for it!" Ichimatsu shouted as he kept running and looked behind him. "I won't take long!" he then disappeared into the woods.

Ichimatsu ran looking for the ball but he noticed the ball had disappeared, where could it be? Maybe it had flew out really far away? No... it looks like he would have to look for it carefully.

"Wow... Jyushimatsu sure knows how to hit... maybe I won't be able to find it..." said Ichimatsu while looking for it, he tried not to miss it or something. "I'm sure it had landed over here..."

"Meow..." Ichimatsu heard a familiar sound, but... could it be what he was thinking? He stopped looking for the ball to focus on the meowing. "Meow..."

"A cat? I thought I was hearing things but... it seems there is one around here" Ichimatsu said now excited to hear that sound, he liked, no, he loved cats so it was obviously his priority over all things.

Ichimatsu followed the sound which was getting louder and louder, the boy was strongly motivated to find the kitty since he supposed it was from one that was very small, if not from a newborn... and how did he know that? Ichimatsu, many times spent his time with the cats in the neighborhood, he fed them and played with them, he had learned to differentiate the meowing somehow; not perfectly but he could easily distinguish the meowing between adult cats and really young cats... meaning something was starting to bother him, those loud and constant meowing sounds were coming possibly from a distressed cat, it was crying or something was happening to it. Ichimatsu had to find it and see in what he could help it with.

He didn't take long to reach the source, it was something his mind couldn't process... how could that be happening? It could also happen? No... he probably was seeing things...

"What...?" Ichimatsu murmured as he saw a drunk man kicking a cat while shouting incoherences. The boy could feel how his heart shrunk by watching such violence, how could he hurt it? How dare he? And if that wasn't enough... when looking around, he noticed three little kittens that looked really scared; they were seeing how their mother was being seriously injured.

Ichimatsu couldn't bare the sight, he was paralyzed the moment he saw the man kicking the mother and when he undertood the offspring were now defenseless... he couldn't help but feel something inside twisting, something squeezing him. He wanted to cry but at the same time he couldn't, he just couldn't react.

"Cats are so stupid! You deserve to die, useless beasts!" the stranger shouted while still kicking the mother. "This one really resisted, was it so worried about the other three? Ha! That's funny"

Ichimatsu watched in terror how the man turned around to stare at the kittens that were meowing in pure sadness and fright. Ichimatsu started walking to the scene undertanding perfectly what the man intended, but... when he saw how the man grinned devilishly from ear to ear he couldn't help but run instead.

"Die, you pieces of-!" the man shouted in wrath as he tried to stomp on them but he was taken by surprise when a kid had thrown himself to cover the kittens and hug them protectively.

"No...! I won't let you harm them!" Ichimatsu shouted as he stayed in that position while shielding the kittens from the abusive man. The boy observed how near him was the unmoving body of the kittens mother, he felt how his stomach stirred and an overwhelming sensation of nausea engulfed him... Ichimatsu resisted with all his might his urge to vomit and instead started sobbing, the guilt was chewing at him, he couln't do anything to save the mother... he had been useless.

"What? Who are you kid? You better move!" the man shouted while kicking him harshly as he tried to get him to release the cats.

"No! I don't know why you are doing this but I'm not moving!" Ichimatsu shouted while the man kept kicking him over and over.

"Heh, acting as a hero... it won't change anything! I'll make you let go of them sooner or later!" the drunk man kept on kicking him. Ichimatsu could feel his back ache but it didn't compare to the pain he felt when looking at the mother on the floor with blood spreading under her and her poor kittens crying and shivering in his arms.

"They didn't do anything wrong! Leave them alone! Don't you see they are helpless?! They are weak and vulnerable!" Ichimatsu shouted really hurt and mad at the man.

"Weak? Vulnerable...? You think I care about that? That's even more of a reason to do it! It's even more fun that way!" the man said without a trace of regret in his words. Ichimatsu stared at him, he didn't know how it was possible someone could be so inhuman and cruel, the young one was left without words to say... as he received the kicks, he kept listening to the crying of the kittens and at the same time he kept listening to the incoherences the man spout.

"You probably think that I'll stop because you are a kid" said the man as he kept kicking him "Well, I don't care! I don't know where you came from and what you intend by doing this but to be protecting scum makes you scum as well!"

"What are you saying...?" the black haired murmured "Only the wretched dare to hurt such innocent creatures!" Ichimatsu shouted while consumed in frustration and anger. The drunk man stopped kicking him. Ichimatsu stared confused, what was happening?

"So that's what you think eh..." the man murmured while showing him a dangerous smile. Ichimatsu watched nervously and scared... but he wouldn't let go of the kittens no matter how much the stranger insisted with the violence, he wouldn't forgive himself if that mad man took the lives of those little ones. "I'll send you to hell along with those!" Ichimatsu closed his eyes and made sure to shield the kittens while the man focused on kicking him with no remorse.

Minutes after receiving so many kicks, Ichimatsu felt how his body shivered without any strenght, the only strenght left was solely to protect the three that were meowing in his arms. The kicks had stopped, the leftover pain was from the previous kicks... why? Ichimatsu shifted his position a bit as to see what the man was doing, what he saw was nothing of his liking. The man held a stone and as he smiled evilly, he threw it up and down on his hand demonstrating a really hostile appearance.

"Jyushimatsu... I think I won't be able to return with the ball..." said Ichimatsu as he looked at the man approaching him slowly. Ichimatsu closed his eyes and prepared himself to the following strikes while thinking how angry the other would be for not having gone back already with the ball.

 **xXxXxXxXx**

The Matsuno family was in the field still waiting for the return of their fourth son, they did think he would take his time since Jyushimatsu had thrown that ball really far away... but was Jyushimatsu that strong? How far could it have gone?

"How odd... shouldn't Ichimatsu be back by now?" Choromatsu asked while staring in the direction his younger brother had taken.

"Jyushimatsu probably threw it really far away" said Todomatsu to then look at his older brother. "Jyushimatsu, you are a monster"

"Haha, not really" said Jyushimatsu really happy to see the proof of his cool throwing.

"I don't really think Ichimatsu is still looking for the ball" said Karamatsu "Knowing him he would have given up and come back complaining or something"

"That's true..." said Osomatsu "I think it'd be better if we just went to look for him, even if he is still looking for the ball... we'll have to wait for who knows how much longer"

"Yes, Ichimatsu already took his time... please look for him" said their mother "Your father and I will stay here taking care of the things, don't take too long"

"Of course, mom" said all of the brothers at the same time, they then went to look for their missing brother.

The boys looked for Ichimatsu anywhere, even under bushes and shouted his name not so motivated, they kind of thought his brother was not back for some silly reason and that irritated them a little.

"Hey, why do you think Ichimatsu hasn't come back already?" Osomatsu asked trying to find a reason or an explanation to his brothers delay.

"I say he found a squirrel and went running after it!" said Jyushimatsu pretty sure of the reason.

"That's what you would do, I say he went to look for it some place else and just passed it on the way" said Todomatsu.

"Maybe he got tired of looking and went to buy an ice cream or something..." said Choromatsu when thinking on what could have been.

"Maybe he couldn't find it and went to buy another one" said Karamatsu. Osomatsu just stared in disbelief.

"Hey... I asked for the reason he would not have come back... not what you guys would do in his place" said Osomatsu. The other four just laughed.

"We really don't know why" said Jyushimatsu before suddenly stopping "Oh... look, I found the ball" the four looked at how Jyushimatsu took it.

"Hmm? It's true, it was here... but... why would Ichimatsu not have seen it? It wasn't so hard to find" said Osomatsu contemplating other possibilities.

"Maybe my ice cream theory is correct" said Choromatsu. Osomatsu shook his head and kept walking.

"I don't think so... Ichimatsu should have gone back already" said Osomatsu while the five kept walking. The brothers had no idea, they just assumed that he could have gotten lost when looking for it or that he was looking for it in another place.

The siblings kept looking for him without saying much to each other, their parents were waiting so they couldn't take too long. When they were starting to get fed up, the sound of relentless strikes caught their attention. All of them automatically turned around to follow the sound, what could that had been?

"Osomatsu..." the others murmured as they felt insecure of whatever was happening, however, Osomatsu didn't stop. They kept walking to the source and they ran into something disturbing... there was a weird man kicking someone. They couldn't identify the person since the kids could only see his back.

"Should we interfere?" Jyushimatsu asked while doubting his suggestion, wouldn't they get involved? wouldn't they get hurt too?

"Well..." Osomatsu murmured not so sure while Karamatsu approached the scene and looked at the victim from another position, not so close to say he was aside of the aggressor but close enough to distinguish the identiy of the victim... his mind stopped working when he realized who it was... that person lying in a small blood puddle was none other than his younger brother, Ichimatsu.

"Ichimatsu!" Karamatsu shouted really scared, the others turned around inmediately and watched how Karamatsu jumped the attacker and was hitting him with all his might. What was wrong ith him? They had never seen their brother so out of himself, so full of wrath and hatred.

"Karamatsu...?" Jyushimatsu could not believe what he was seing... but worse then, as Karamatsu fought the man, they came into view of the victim behind them. Ichimatsu.

Everyone stood there horrified at the sight of the severe injured body of their brother, his clothes were torn and his wounds looked deep, he also looked to have been pierced with something over and over. After the initial shock, Todomatsu, Choromatsu and Jyushimatsu ran to help Karamatsu hit the man whereas Osomatsu ran to where Ichimatsu was.

"Ichimatsu..." Osomatsu murmured while seeing his unconscious brother."Why...?" Osomatsu couldn't process it, he just couldn´t simply see his brother in that state... tears filled his eyes and a newfound wrath was born inside him, he wanted to beat the man the same way the others were doing but he knew one of them had to be with Ichimatsu. "Why...? You just had to go look for the ball... why would you get involved in this? Why did you end up like this? What were you thinking you piece of-?!" before he could finish, the sound of sad meowing cut him off.

Silence. Osomatsu was confused, really confused, had he just heard meowing? With care and without thinking in anything at all, he approached his brother and tried to move his arms which were curiously really tight, it was a really powerful grip... how could it be? However, Osomatsu used the necessary force to move them, at least slightly, managing to reveal three young kittens.

Osomatsu couldn't believe it, between his arms were three shivering kittens that were meowing really sad and frightened. Speechless, Osomatsu looked around and noticed how the corpse of cat remained not so far from where they were; looking at the cats again, he understood what had happened, he understood why his brother was in such heartbreaking state.

His wrath vanished and instead was replaced by a really intense sense of grief and frustration, he cried inconsolably when understanding, it was obvious, wasn't it? It was likely to think that Ichimatsu would have done something like that... how not to intercede for these defenseless kittens? If he hadn't done that, his brother wouldn't have been able to live with himself, he wouldn't be at peace.

"Ichimatsu... Ichimatsu..." Osomatsu hugged Ichimatsu who was embracing the kittens, it looked like Osomatsu was hugging both his brother and the kittens reassuringly. Without any anger left, he cried over his brother. "Ichimatsu... forgive us for not getting here on time... please forgive me..."

The meowing seemed to drown the world outside of the inmense sadness Osomatsu felt in those moments, why hadn't they gone with him to look for the ball? Why did it have to be this way? Why hadn't they gone to look for him earlier? Why hadn't they suspected that something was wrong?

It didn't matter what kind of questions he did... nothing that had just taken place would change, his brother wouldn't stop bleeding, he wouldn't stop getting colder and colder. His mind wouldn't stop stirring and sinking in pure regret, in the idea that he was careless, in the idea the world was closing more and more on him and so the oxygen seemed to be less and less...

"Ichimatsu... I'm sorry..."


	2. Suspicion

**Chapter 2. Suspicion**

"Ichimatsu... I'm sorry..." Osomatsu murmured over and over as he held his brother's body. His tears wouldn't stop falling, he sobbed in pain while his brothers kept kicking the man that had wounded their brother. What would he say to his parents? What could be best? But first... Was there anything to say? No... Osomatsu wouldn't accept it, he was sure to be exaggerating, he was sure it wasn't what he thought it was... but why was his heart threatening to explode? Why wouldn't his body move? He had to make sure of his brother's state... it wasn't nice to assume things like that, but... his mind and heart were divided. His mind asked him to 'calm down and think' while his heart simply suffered for what he was seeing and for those feelings of guilt and frustration.

"Oso..." Ichimatsu said as low as a whisper, however, his brother could hear so he turned to see him right away.

"Ichimatsu... I... I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I really am!" Osomatsu said as he felt some relief to see that not everything was lost.

"Osomatsu... take them..." Ichimatsu, without replying to Osomatsu's apologies, begged his brother to take the kittens somewhere safe. Osomatsu looked at him in disbelief, he was still thinking about the cats? But his appearance was a mess! He needed medical help!

"Are you crazy?!" Osomatsu snapped out from the trance he was in, such plea was inconceivable. How could he abandon his brother? It's true the kittens deserved being protected but... if he didn't do anything his brother would bleed to death! "You are going to a hospital!"

"Osomatsu... take them... please..." Ichimatsu shivered and pleaded the other to save the kitties. "Otherwise... that man... that man..." Osomatsu could notice something weird about him, it seems his brother still thought the man was about to kill the cats.

"Ichimatsu, everything is fine, they won't be hurt again, he won't harm you either" said Osomatsu as he saw Ichimatsu kept begging weakly, he was ignoring what his older brother was saying, he paid no mind in hearing the man was inmobilized by his brothers, he just kept pleading.

"Take them... please..." Ichimatsu was about to fall unconscious again but he remained awake by the last of his strenght, as he thought he was still in danger he kept making an effort to resist and that meant he didn't want to lose consciousness, he couldn't... if he did, the kitties would be killed... or so he thought as he kept begging. Osomatsu stared at him between disturbed and worried, why wouldn't he stop saying that over and over? No... It was too much to ask that his brother acted normal after being pummeled that way.

"Guys! Stop it! Ichimatsu needs an ambulance!" Osomatsu shouted to the others who were hitting the drunk man who was now unconscious on the floor, they were kicking and stomping him trying to get even for what happened... although there was no way they would feel okay no matter how much they hurt the man. After hearing Osomatsu, the three stopped immediately.

"Ichimatsu! How is Ichimatsu?!" Jyushimatsu asked really alarmed as he approached his older brothers.

"He is in a critical condition, he needs to go to the hospital right now" said Osomatsu "Choromatsu...!" Osomatsu tried calling the third brother but he soon realized he wasn't anywhere around. "Choromatsu...?"

"Choromatsu went to look for mom and dad a while ago, he shouldn't take long to come back" said Todomatsu as he knelt near his injured brother and stared at him "How horrible... Ichimatsu..." the youngest of the sextuplets looked at Ichimatsu with a lot of grief.

"I see, that's nice... Ichimatsu needs to be treated right away, I'll need to thank Choromatsu" said Osomatsu. Karamatsu stared at the kittens really confused, what was happening? Was his brother being beaten while he protected the cats...?"

"Osomatsu..." Karamatsu murmured without taking his attention from the cats. "This is..."

"Save them..." murmured Ichimatsu once again, he was having difficulty speaking so he was now barely uttering the words, nobody really knew what he was saying except for Osomatsu and Karamatsu. Karamatsu could discern the words as he was really close from where he was staring at the cats and Osomatsu just knew what he was saying, how could he not? It was the same thing his brother kept saying over and over.

"Ichimatsu... they are safe now, everything will be okay, everything will be fine..." said Osomatsu as he hugged his brother with care and caressed his head trying to make him calm down.

It was worrying to see their fourth brother in that state, Todomatsu, Jyushimatsu and Karamatsu were concerned at how Osomatsu needed to console him. It wasn't the fact that their older brother was trying to calm him down, it was the fact that Ichimatsu kept being scared for the situation, he acted like if the assailant was still there, he acted like if he was still being beaten and nothing Osomatsu was saying or doing was helping.

"..s...them..." Ichimatsu whispered before falling unconscious. Osomatsu kept hugging him and waited with all his heart that Choromatsu came back with their parents and an ambulance soon, if not... they would lose their brother.

"Choromatsu, please come back already! Please!" Osomatsu shouted to the sky as he tried suppressing his tears.

The next minutes passed between a mix of water slipping through their fingers and hair pulling slow, the siblings felt how time was running out and they felt at the same time how it seemed to stop, it was incredibly frustrating... and with each passing second their hopes were falling deeper and deeper. Osomatsu was asking his brother to hang in there, that once the ambulance arrived everything would be alright... but Ichimatsu's body heat just kept slipping away, his life was pending from a really thin string and Osomatsu pleaded for it to remain intact, he pleaded for time so the ambulance came and he could be taken to a hospital... It wasn't too much to ask for, right? It was something fair, right?

The four of them waited a little longer and luckily the ambulance came rushing in, there was no time to waste, the paramedics took Ichimatsu inside the ambulance along with Osomatsu and their father. The others had refused going in since they felt they were robbing their wounded brother of space and their mother had decided to stay with the boys as to not leave them alone. Normally they would have complained about Osomatsu being the only one to go in the ambulance but in those moments they considered that it was best that the eldest went, of course, Matsuyo and the four boys went straight to the hospital after seeing how the ambuance disappeared from the area.

 **xXxXxXx**

Matsuyo entered the hospital with her children, they asked about Ichimatsu's state but they were only told that he was in the emergency room... meaning they knew nothing of how he was at the moment, they had to wait. The nurses lead them to the waiting room in where Osomatsu and his father stayed completely devastated; they needed to hear that Ichimatsu was fine, it was the only way they would feel better.

"Dad... Osomatsu..." the four said as they approached them. "Ichimatsu... how is he?" they asked even though they knew the answer was an unsure one.

"Ichimatsu is still in the emergency room, boys, we don't know how he is" said Matsuzo. Osomatsu was trembling out of nervousness after hearing the blunt words coming from his father, they were terribly honest.

"We understand but..." everyone murmured without knowing how to ask what they actually wanted. Osomatsu looked at them and without much difficulty knew what they were meaning to truly ask.

"Ichimatsu is still alive, when we arrived at the hospital he was still breathing, his heart was still beating... they were really weak but they were there, that's what matters" said Osomatsu referring to the electrocardiograph. Jyushimatsu, Choromatsu, Todomatsu and Karamatsu felt relieved, they weren't completely calm but to know that their brother didn't have breathing or heart complications filled them with hope.

"Ichimatsu... it's a relief to know that" said Choromatsu while sighing. "Thanks, we know it's not much but it is something"

"I'm sure he'll be fine, I trust he will be" said Karamatsu. "He was doing pretty good a while ago... things can't just suddenly change..." Karamatsu remembered how Ichimatsu had been upset with him and how he had scolded him.

"He has to... otherwise, I'll get really mat at him, he made us worry so much..." said Todomatsu. "Besides, he can't just give up... a drunkard can't take him away from us..." Todomatsu said to himself, though everyone else heard him.

"Oh boys..." Matsuyo looked at the kids and couldn't keep her feelings any longer, the concern she felt about her son's life made her feel so torn that it was inevitable to cry.

"Mom... don't worry, Ichimatsu will be fine, I just know" said Jyushimatsu who was now hugging his mother as well as dedicating her his best of smiles. "Ichimatsu is really strong, I'm sure we'll be visiting him in a bit... we can even peel some pears for him" Karamatsu was alarmed to see his mom crying so he knew he had to try and cheer her up, console her, anything to make her feel better.

"Ichimatsu resisted until the ambulance came, mom, they are already treating him, I'm sure he won't take long to come out of the emergency room" said Karamatsu. Matsuyo nodded and hugged both boys. Choromatsu and Todomatsu preferred not joining... not because they didn't want to join in... but because if they gave in then they would start crying and they deemed it was counter productive, just seeing their mother that way was enough to make them really emotional; things would just worsen.

The Matsuno Family waited several hours, time to time, one of the brothers would get up and walk around the place meanwhile others were peeking at the hallway that lead to the emergency room just like if they were expecting Ichimatsu to come out; they knew it wasn´t possible for him to come out soon but they were still peeking just in case. The only one that hadn't moved was Osomatsu who simply couldn't move, he didn't even want to think, he didn't want to see anything nor anyone... the only thing he desired was to hear about his brother's condition, just that.

Time after, a nurse approached them and asked to speak with their parents in private. The brothers watched as they walked away to speak. Would it be something about Ichimatsu? Why did they have to speak in private? Would it be something good? Would it be something bad? The boys couldn't help but worry since they wouldn't know what was going on until their parents decided to tell them. Matsuyo and Matsuzo went back to where their kids where, they were staring at them expectantly.

"We've just been told that Ichimatsu is still in bad shape, kids... he apparently needs a blood donor, the nurse explained us that it was best that one of his brothers supported him" said Matsuyo. The boys were nervous to hear that but they were still asking themselves why the nurse hadn't said that in front of them if they were going to be told anyway... was it a stupid hospital procedure?

"I-" Osomatsu tried volunteering but Choromatsu quickly offered. "Choromatsu...?"

"I'll do it, mom" Choromatsu said. He had volunteered as a way to stop his older brother from doing so, he didn't want him to stress over that as well.

"Are you sure, Choromatsu? They said they need a great amount so it's possible you'll be weak for some days" said Matsuzo to the third brother who didn't seem to have second thoughts.

"Yes, I'm sure" said Choromatsu. Osomatsu stared at him confused, why had he offered? The natural thing would be that the eldest was the one responsible...

"Choromatsu, don't worry, I can be the one to donate blood" said Osomatsu. Choromatsu shook his head in denial and instead looked at him with a stern face.

"Osomatsu, you look the worst from what just happened... it doesn't mean we don't care but you are the most affected, it's easy to know by just seeing you" said Choromatsu.

"But that..." Osomatsu tried to come up with something but Choromatsu wouldn't let him, he had decided to be the donor.

"Losing such amount of blood can make you fall ill, your body doesn't need that" said Choromatsu. Osomatsu frowned not really understanding his point.

"What are you talking about? If I have possibilities of falling ill... so do you!" said Osomatsu.

"Osomatsu, what I want to say is that you are not mentally okay to go through this" said Choromatsu as he then walked towards the nurse "I'll be fine, you should just rest"

"Choromatsu..." murmured Karamatsu as he saw him leave with the nurse. "Mom, I can donate some too"

"Mom, Choromatsu doesn't have to donate all of it, I can donate some of mine" said Todomatsu somehow worried about what had been previously said.

"I can as well!" Jyushimatsu said really eager to give some. Matsuyo shook her head after hearing them.

"Kids, I know what I said but they only need one person" said Matsuyo as she felt a little light headed. The kids stared at her confused... why couldn't they?

"Hospitals only need one donor to make up for the blood being used" said Matsuzo as he noticed he needed to take his wife outside to breathe some fresh air. "They can't give him blood directly from you guys"

"Huh? Why not?" Todomatsu, Jyushimatsu and Karamatsu asked without understanding what they had just heard. Matsuzo and Matsuyo seemed not to listen since they were heading outside of the building after telling their children they needed some fresh air, mostly Matsuyo.

"They have to check the donor's blood... they can't give him blood directly from us since it'd be dangerous" said Osomatsu "Mom explained it wrong but it is true that it is better for one of us to donate"

"Osomatsu..." murmured Karamatsu as he listened interested in what he was saying, though, why did he know that? "Osomatsu, why?"

"Why do I know this? They were commenting it before you all came here, I intended to volunteer from the beginning" said Osomatsu.

"You already knew Ichimatsu needed blood...?" Todomatsu asked.

"Yes, they said it was likely since he had lost a lot" said Osomatsu without any specific tone, he was still feeling down but he was trying to not let it affect the information he was sharing.

"Osomatsu, it isn't your fault" said Jyushimatsu suddenly. Everyone, including Osomatsu turned to see him after such statement.

"Jyushimatsu, you..." Osomatu murmured as he asked himself if it was that obvious that guilt was still overwhelming him. Todomatsu and Karamatsu remained in silence at what had been said preferring to listen instead.

"None of us could know that would happen" Jyushimatsu said "It's not your fault" Osomatsu looked at him for several seconds, he then decided to speak.

"Choromatsu will probably be really weak these days, it was really unnecessary what he did" said Osomatsu "But I guess it was a nice detail"

"Osomatsu...!" Jyushimatsu was a bit upset to see his older brother ignoring him. "It isn't your fault!"

"He'll have to stay home even if he doesn't want to, haha, to think he was whining about it just this morning" said Osomatsu with a tiny smile that kept showing how sad he was. Jyushimatsu didn't understand why his brother kept ignoring him, and it didn't help that a nurse had approached to tell them that their brother wasn't going to be visible until the next day. Osomatsu wasn't bothered about having to wait but it was indeed turning annoying to listen to Jyushimatsu repeat over and over that it wasn't his fault, it made him feel really angry and so it made him reconsider his stay in the hospital.

"Osomatsu! You couldn't have known that would happen!" Jyushimatsu tried again but this time the only thing he managed to do was to make Osomatsu finally leave his seat.

"Guys, I'll be heading home, I'll see you all there, okay?" Osomatsu walked towards the exit without looking back. Todomatsu, Karamatsu and Jyushimatsu remained looking at their brother quietly leaving.

"Well... I think we'll have to leave sooner or later from the hospital" said Todomatsu "I don't think mom and dad will let us stay here"

"It's true... even if we wanted, because of our age they won't allow us to" said Karamatsu. Jyushimatsu stayed silent, he was still thinking about the reason his older brother was so hard on himself.

"By the way, Jyushimatsu, I think you were too blunt with Osomatsu" said Todomatsu.

"Eh? You really think so?"

"Yes... that subject is really delicate, I think you should try to tell him again once we know of Ichimatsu's state" said Karamatsu "I'm sure that Osomatsu will listen to what you have to say then"

"I see..." Jyushimatsu murmured "Yes, it's true, I'll try again once we are allowed to see Ichimatsu"

"Also, try not to mention anything related to it unless Osomatsu brings it up" Todomatsu said "It seems that he feels really responsible for it, it shouldn't be that way but we know how he feels somehow..."

"Yes, maybe I was too insensitive... but I don't want him to worry for something he didn't do, we didn't know what was going to happen" said Jyushimatsu "How could we know that a strange man that harms cats would be precisely at the park? I simply can't understand!" the fifth of the brothers said as he felt a lot of frustration. Before anyone could say anything to him, their parents came back and told them it was time to go back since they needed to rest if they wanted to be able to speak to Ichimatsu the next day; with an explanation like that, it was inevitable that the brothers would agree, they wanted to be in their best spirits to support their brother.

 **xXxXxXx**

The Matsuno family went back home with the idea to visit Ichimatsu early in the morning, they intended to wait until being told that he was fine and they wanted to be as close as they could to be inmediately with him. Once they entered, they found Osomatsu watching TV, he was changing channels without being interested in what was in them, he only wanted something to distract himself. Matsuyo and Matsuzo had gone to their room after telling their children they needed to rest for a while but that they would be back to make them dinner.

Jyushimatsu, even though what he had said before, felt a strong need to speak to Osomatsu, but Todomatsu and Karamatsu didn't let him. They left Osomatsu alone and they just went to another room to spend their time. Their older brother needed space.

Everyone had been really distant to one another, this included their parents as well as Osomatsu, excluding dinner time, the family wouldn't say a word, they weren't trying to bring up the subject. There was a mutual agreement for silence without needing to propose it; what had been a day full of joy had turned into a really depressing one, they were all waiting for it to end, they only wanted for the next day to come. Eventually, the brothers went to sleep, Osomatsu seemed to had been there first as he was already asleep in his futon. Todomatsu, Karamatsu and Jyushimatsu watched him for a brief moment, their brother was really hurting... it had really been the best that Choromatsu had been the one to volunteer, if Osomatsu had lost so much blood instead, with that emotional state of his, it would have been a matter of time before he ended sick.

Todomatsu woke up at 2:00 am needing to go to the bathroom, his need had forced him to get up and walk out of the room, he would normally take one of his brothers with him but this time he was more sad than anything so he didn't really think about his fear; he just walked out without telling anyone. Once he was out of the bathroom, he heard noise coming from another room so he walked silently towards the origin... he noticed that their parents were having a conversation, he was about to leave until he heard it was about something important... they were talking about the man's identity, yeah, it was something he had to tell the others. His mother sounded really sad as his dad commented about it, they seemed to have trouble sleeping once they had heard about the aggresor. Todomatsu decided to go before they thought on leaving so he went straight to his room, he would have something to tell them tomorrow.

 **xXxXxXx**

Osomatsu, Karamatsu, Jyushimatsu and Todomatsu got up early according to the plan, they ate breakfast in the same silence as the day before and afterwards all of them went to the hospital. They hoped to see Ichimatsu soon.

Jyushimatsu looked at Osomatsu discretely, he didn't want his brother to notice and say something about it but he couldn't help staring, he was worried to see him still affected by the guilt. Ichimatsu would be okay, Osomatsu didn't have to be so hard on himself, Ichimatsu would soon be visible and he would surely say it had been nothing... or so he hoped, he wanted for things to go back to be as they were the day before, before the incident, he didn't want his family to keep mantaining the silent agreement.

After some time, a doctor approached Matsuyo and Matsuzo and told them that the blood transfusion had been a success and so it would not take much before he woke up. Matsuyo asked him if it was okay to go see him, the doctor told her it was okay but that the maximum amount of people that could be inside at the same time were five. Osomatsu suggested that it was best that their parents went first and that once they were back then the rest would go see him since it wasn't nice to leave someone out when all of them wanted to see their brother.

"Wait here, kids, we'll be some time with your brother and then we'll come back so you all can go see him" said Matsuzo then leaving with his wife to the room where Ichimatsu was.

The boys watched them leave and were left feeling really excited of seeing Ichimatsu, would he be okay? Yeah, he had to... besides, the doctor had said it was a success, right?

"Osomatsu, it was really considerate to let our parents go first" said Karamatsu with a smile.

"It's the natural thing, they had been controlling themselves in front of us but in reality they are the most worried" Osomatsu said "I wouldn't like to see them that way for much longer"

"Yeah, I think we can wait a bit more, besides, they'll surely tell us how he is when they come back" said Jyushimatu.

"Not mentioning that Choromatsu should be with Ichimatsu" said Todomatsu. Osomatsu and the others nodded at the mention of their third brother.

"We would have waited for him but being that it was a lot of blood he donated, it was best to let him rest in the hospital" said Karamatsu. The boys laughed a bit before going back to that known silence, this until they could see Ichimatsu.

 **xXxXxXx**

Their parents came back later, forty minutes later to be exact, they mentioned how relieved they were to know their son was alive and now recovering even though they were still sad to see them so weak. The boys got worried from hearing that but they decided on seeing him with their own eyes. Matsuyo and Matsuzo took the boys to his room and then left saying they would buy some things for Ichimatsu.

Nervously, the brothers went inside the room, they noticed Ichimatsu was in the bed looking really tired and with red eyes. Osomatsu, Karamatsu, Jyushimatsu and Todomatsu felt really happy to see him, he was fine after all.

"Ichimatsu!" Jyushimasu ran towards him and hugged him really content. Ichimatsu looked at him momentarily and slightly curled his lips into a smile, he lacked strenght but he couldn't help but feel good when seeing his brothers.

"Ichimatsu! How are you?" Karamatsu asked as he approached him, he was really relieved to see him awake.

"I feel like a truck ran me over..." said Ichimatsu as he still felt a lot of pain "Everything hurts"

Osomatsu looked at Choromatsu who was sitting on a sofa near Ichimatsu's bed while drinking apple juice. He smiled really pleased with him.

"Choromatsu, thanks" said Osomatsu as he approached him and grabbed his shoulder "Did they take a lot?"

"Yes, kinda, I feel a bit dizzy and tired but it's nice to be all together" said Choromatsu "You should have seen him a while ago, he wouldn't stop crying once he saw mom enter"

"Hey! I wasn't crying!" Ichimatsu exclaimed not so loud as he lacked energy but loud enough to sound angry.

"It's okay, it's not wrong for you to cry" said Todomatsu "Besides, mom and dad were really worried"

"Osomatsu was really down, you know?" said Jyushimatsu to Ichimatsu in a way only Ichimatsu would hear "He feels really responsible for what happened"

"What...?" Ichimatsu uttered really surprised. "But it was me who got involved in that... no one is at fault but me"

"Ah?" everyone else uttered once they heard him. Ichimatsu looked at Osomatsu firmly and sighed.

"Osomatsu, I'm sorry" said Ichimatsu. Osomatsu looked confused at him, why was he apologizing?

"I know I caused a fuss and that it was really reckless of me, I never thought I'd end this way" said Ichimatsu "I didn't think things would turn out like this"

"Ichimatsu..." Osomatsu looked at him "No, it was my fault, we should have gone with you to look for the ball"

"I don't think that was necessary, nothing would happen, everything would have been okay... it was my decision to be involved in that which caused things to turn out like this" said Ichimatsu "It's silly to tag along to look for the ball, if I hadn't gone, I would have been lazy to tag along to look for it"

"But..." Osomatsu couldn't stop feeling guilty, he didn't care if his brother said he'd be lazy, it was his responsibility as the eldest to look out for the rest.

"I'm happy you worry about me, but it is a fact that you couldn't have known that something like that would happen" said Ichimatsu "The only thing that would change if you had come with me is that we both would've end hurt, I wouldn't have liked that"

"But..."

"Ah... it's because of these kind of things that I feel bad about my decisions, Osomatsu, you can't be in everything and not because something bad happens to us means it's automatically your fault" said Ichimatsu "Although this time I do not regret my decision, it was something I had to do"

"I understand" said Osomatsu, he kept feeling bad but seeing his brother speaking normally, seeing him alive and well did make him feel a bit better.

"But it is strange, don't you guys think so? What kind of person hurts cats?" said Karamatsu "I don't think it's normal... could he have been really drunk?"

"No, that man is like that" Todomatsu said suddenly. Everyone, including Ichimatsu looked at him with curiosity. "That man tends to mistreat cats just because he feels like it"

"Todomatsu... you know who that man was?" asked Choromatsu.

"Yes, apparently, his name is Tatami, a criminal that goes around hurting and killing cats" said Todomatsu "It's like a hobby of his, he always seems to carry a pair of knives with him"

Everyone remained paralyzed, what kind of sicko was that man? They didn't understand... and the one who could process that less was Ichimatsu. After hearing Todomatsu, he could remember the fear of the previous day, the despair he felt and how impotent he was.

"No... h-how..." Ichimatsu started trembling when thinking that the man wasn't an ordinary drunkard, he did it as a hobby? He found amusing to kill such innocent creatures? He had murdered more? "No..."

"Ichimatsu?" Jyushimatsu looked at Ichimatsu with horror, his brother was trembling and covering his mouth, he looked dizzy and scared. Choromatsu stood up and walked towards the youngest brother to him him on the head.

"Todomatsu, don't say that kind of stuff in front of Ichimatsu, don't you see how he is?" said Choromatsu as he stared at his brother angrily.

"Ah... I'm sorry" said Todomatsu afer understanding he had been insensitive with his way of saying it.

"Todomatsu, how do you know all that?" Osomatsu asked.

"I heard mom and dad talking about it yesterdar" said Todomatsu "The police apparently spoke to them and gave them all that information"

"I see... I don't remember hearing them talking about something like that" said Karamatsu.

"That's because they were talking about it past our bedtime, I heard about it when I woke up to go pee" said Todomatsu. "Ichimatsu, how did you run into him?"

"I..." Ichimatsu murmured as he tried calming down by breathing in and out and keeping silent for several seconds. "I was looking for the ball, I heard the sound of meowing so I followed it... I ran into that man as he was about to murded the kitties, so, I ran towards them and shielded them from the man's kicking... the rest is how you all remember it, I don't remember much from when he was kicking and beating me... I only wanted to protect them"

"Ichimatsu, I'm sorry!" Osomasu said again as he remembered the scene in which he had found his brother. Ichimatsu looked at him and frowned clearly not pleased with his brother's attitude, he really didn't understand.

"Osomatsu, please understand, it wasn't your fault. Keep doing that and I'm going to get angry" said Ichimatsu to Osomatsu who stopped apologizing right after hearing him, he then chuckled nervously.

"Ichimatsu... I know that what you did was important for you and that if it happened again, which I hope not, you would do the same but..." Osomatsu said this time with another posture "I don't want you to get involved in those type of problems again"

"Huh?" Ichimatsu looked at him like if he was speaking in another language. Karamatsu, Jyushimatsu, Todomatsu and Choromatsu agreed with Osomatsu.

"Ichimatsu, that man almost kills you..." said Jyushimatsu "I don't want to lose you"

"We don't know what would have happened if we hadn't gone at that moment..." said Karamatsu sounding really afraid.

"Hey, I appreaciate all of your feelings but..." Ichimatsu frowned "I can't accept that"

"What? Why not?!" Choromatsu exclaimed, though, the shouting had made his head feel like it was spinning so he had to lean on Todomatsu to not fall.

"I don't plan on letting that man to murder in front of me, if that happened again I wouldn't hesitate to act again" Ichimatsu said while noticing the frustration on his brothers faces "It doesn't mean I'll go around looking for trouble... but I can't promise that I won't try protecting another cat again..."

"I see... in that case... one of us will be with you at all times!" said Karamatsu really content. The others took a moment to think about it but they eventually decided it was for the best.

"What? That's not necessary... it's not like I'll be running into that man all the time" said Ichimatsu, comment that was ignored by almost everyone.

"It doesn't matter if you don't want that, it's our way to make sure you'll be okay" said Jyushimatsu "Besides, we are almost always together so it shouldn't bother you"

"Well... yes, that's true... it's just you guys made it sound weird" said Ichimatsu "Okay, anything is fine as long I'm not forbidden from doing that"

"Okay! Now that it's decided... who's staying with Ichimatsu today?" asked Osomatsu. Choromatsu interrupted inmediately.

"Mom said that she would stay with Ichimatsu today, dad will stay tomorrow" said Choromatsu "They probably don't want to leave us alone... and I don't really think they'll let us stay to sleep"

"Ah, I understand... but maybe after dad stays he'll let us negotiate with them" said Osomatsu who wanted to stay with Ichimatsu, it was a nice way to make up for his carelessness... or so he thought.

"Yes, it's possible we are allowed to after that" said Todomatsu "Choromatsu, do you know how long will Ichimatsu be here?"

"Probably around a week, I don't doubt he'll be still in pain afterwards but at least he'll be back home" said Choromatsu, the others remained worried after hearing that "It's necessary for you to rest all you can, Ichimatsu"

"Ah... that's boring" said Ichimatsu really depressed for the news.

"Well, it could be the karma of not helping us at the store, haha" Todomatsu said "But at least you are not alone in this, Choromatsu won't be able to leave from home this week"

"Yes, at least" said Ichimatsu with a smile, Choromatsu stared at him without understanding why that would recomfort his brother so much.

The siblings stayed talking for a long while, Matsuyo and Matsuzo came back with a small bag containing pears so they had to leave the room to give space to their parents to pamper Ichimatsu for a bit, he deserved it after what he went throught... on his side, Osomatsu, Karamatsu, Choromatsu, Jyushimatsu and Todomatsu were happy, they had managed to see their brother, they had made sure he was okay and they hoped he kept being so, they didn't want another incident to happen anew.

 **xXxXxXx**

The kids went back home once Matsuzo had left the room, his turn was on the next day so it was his responsibility to take care of the remaining five brothers for the rest of the day. All of them were almost back to normal, almost everyone looked with high spirits, they were still worried but now in a more normal level. Choromatsu had gone straight to his room to sleep, he needed his futon so much and his lack of energy motivated him to rest. Osomatsu, Todomatsu and Jyushimatsu played a board game while Karamatsu was preparing to go out, the brothers looked at him curiously.

"Karamatsu... where are you going?" Osomatsu asked.

"Ah, I want to go buy some groceries, maybe some chips or soda... I don't know, do you guys want anything?" Karamatsu asked to the other three.

"Dad gave you money?" Todomatsu asked. Karamatsu nodded. "Oh, okay then, buy me some dessert you see or whatever from the store, anything you want thought I prefer something sweet"

"Okay, anything else?" He turned to see Jyushimatsu and Osomatsu who also wanted something. Osomatsu wanted something salty whereas Jyushimatsu had asked for onigiris. "Okay, then I'm off" Karamatsu said with a smile. Osomatsu frowned while seeing him and felt a bit insecure.

"Karamatsu... do you want me to come with you?" Osomatsu asked. The others looked at him confused.

"Osomatsu... no, don't worry, just keep playing" said Karamatsu "I'll just go and come back before you know it"

"But... will you be okay?" Osomatsu asked. Apparently, Osomatsu was still affected by what had happened to Ichimatsu... he didn't want something to happen again.

"Haha, don't worry, I won't get in trouble, I won't take long" said Karamatsu as he then said his farewells and left.

"Oh..." Osomatsu uttered as he looked in the direction Karamatsu had gone. "Would it be bad for me not to follow...?"

"Osomatsu, I know how you feel but I don't think anything will happen, it's not like something bad will always happen" said Todomatsu "Don't let what happened to Ichimatsu affect you so much"

"Yes, Osomatsu, I'm sure Karamatsu will be fine" said Jyushimatsu.

"But, don't you two care? How can you be so sure that something bad won't happen?" Osomatsu asked not understanding why his brothers were so calm.

"Because it's not okay to be thinking that something bad will happen all the time, we can't simply lock ourselves home or send someone to watch us... with Ichimatsu is different right now but we can't simply act that way" said Todomatsu "We can't be sure something bad will happen"

"Well, I guess you are right... it's just that I don't want any more bad things to happen..." said Osomatsu as he sighed and stared at the floor.

"Osomatsu, you need to stop that, Ichimatsu already told you... you'll only make us angry, specially Ichimatsu if you keep that up when he is back" said Todomatsu.

"I understand, don't worry, I'll be back to normal in a few days... it's just, this just happened yesterday, it's not like I can't see he is doing better now, it's just that I can't get over it so quickly" Osomatsu said "It's silly but I can't help feeling nervous..."

"Osomatsu..." Todomatsu said while feeling bad for insisting on him to stop thinking about that. Osomatsu stood up and walked towards the kitchen. "Osomatsu?"

"I'm going for lemonade, you guys want some?" Jyushimatsu and Todomatsu nodded. Osomatsu left the room to go towards the kitchen.

"Ah... Osomatsu, I don't even know what to say" said Todomatsu to no one in particular.

"I think it's best to let him be for a few days, after all... he had to see that horrible sight of Ichimatsu injured... it's too much to ask for him to be okay just the next day of that happening" said Jyushimatsu "I don't even feel good myself, that sight was really painful... but I don't want us to be in that awkward silence again, I'm sure Ichimatsu doesn't want that"

"I understand, and I know what he means by being worried but... when we are all sad and in silence it hurts more than when we try to bear with the situation, if I acted the same as him then I feel we'll go back to yesterday's mood" said Todomatsu "I'm sure dad and mom haven't got over this either, they're just trying to cope with the situation the best way they can... and I really don't like seeing him so nervous, it's not like him to be that way"

Osomatsu was listening to his brothers conversation as he carried the lemonades on a tray, he had stayed there after listening to what his brothers had to say. He found it to be true, it wasn't nice to be exteriorizing his concern, he would only end saddening the mood and it wasn't healthy either... a bit after listening, Osomatsu entered the room with the lemonades.

"So! Let's keep playing, it was Jyushimatsu's turn to roll the dice, wasn't it?" Osomatsu said while smiling the best way he could as he put the tray on the table. He sat and looked at them waiting to continue the board game.

"Osomatsu... is everything okay?" both looked at him and saw his change of attitude, it was weird and so it baffled them... it's not that they didn't like to see him smiling, it was just weird that he was all happy out of the blue.

"But of course! I think it's best we keep playing!" Osomatsu said. Jyushimatsu and Todomatsu didn't know what to think.

"Hey... Osomatsu heard us, right?" Todomatsu asked in a whisper to Jyushimatsu who nodded finding it a reasonable deduction.

"I think it's best not to say anything right now" Jyushimatsu whispered back "Let's just play" Todomasu nodded.

"Hey... what are you guys whispering about..." Osomatsu squinted at them "Ah! You are conspiring against me, aren´t you?! That's it! Right?!"

"That's true, we won't let you win, Osomatsu!" both exclaimed using Osomatsu's misunderstanding to their favor. They hoped Osomatsu hadn't felt bad for what they had said but they were thankful he was trying to improve the mood to keep playing.

 **xXxXxXx**

Karamatsu walked peacefully to the store, he was in a better mood now that his brother was doing fine; he thought on taking him someting to eat the next time he went. He remembered how he had taken the same route with Jyushimatsu, Ichimatsu and Todomatsu the previous day... he remembered how happy they were when playing stone skipping and also remembered, when walking close to the dock, the man that had made him conversation as he waited for his brothers.

"Toshiaki-san..." murmured Karamatsu to then turn around and stare at the dock. Would he be there again? The boy felt curious, and even though he could hear his brother's words about the man in his mind, he decided to ignore them and walk to the dock to peek and see if he was there. "Toshiaki-san?" He asked as he saw the back of a person that was currently fishing.

"Hmm?" The person turned to see him, he was clearly the man from the previous day. Karamatsu smiled and approached him "Ah, you are that kid from yesterday... Karamatsu-kun, isn´t it?"

"Yes, that's right, it's nice seeing you, Toshiaki-san" said Karamatsu as he then sat next to him.

"What brings you here? I see your brothers aren't with you this time" said the man who had shifted his attention back to fishing. Karamatsu looked at the sky and watched the clouds while listening to the question.

"They are at home, I went out for a bit" said Karamatsu.

"You came to fish?"

"I was actually on my way to buy some groceries to the store" said Karamatsu "But since I was walking around here... well, here I am, haha"

"I see, I see" said the man "Are you interested in fishing for a while?"

"Ah... I don't know how to fish, haha..." Karamatsu said a bit embarrassed. Toshiaki-san handed him one of his fishing poles without caring what the other had said. "Uhmm... but..."

"Don't worry, it's not complicated and it's a really relaxing activity" said the man. Karamatsu nodded and allowed the man to teach him how to fish, he could distract himself for a bit, right?

 **xXxXxXx**

Hours passed and eventually it started getting dark outside. Osomatsu, Jyushimatsu and Todomatsu were still playing that board game, it didn't look like it was going to end soon, it had turned too repetitive and were now starting to get fed up with it.

"Ah... say, why don't we stop playing? It already turned annoying" said Todomatsu as he lay down on the table right over the board and everything that was on it.

"Yes... I think it's time" said Jyushimatsu while playing with the dice, he was clearly bored.

"Speaking of time... don't you think Karamatsu already took his time?" Osomatsu asked while noticing how dark it was outside "Didn't he say he would just go and be back soon?"

"Don't worry, Osomatsu, he probably got distracted by something... else..." said Todomatsu while noticing it was dark outide "Wow, time sure flies, no? I can't believe Karamatsu isn't back yet"

"Do you think we should go look for him?" Jyushimatsu asked as he was starting to worry. "He usually keeps his word..."

As the brothers were debating whether to go or not go, the door opened showing a really agitated Karamatsu as he carried the bags with the stuff he was meant to buy.

"Sorry...f-for... taking... so... long..." Karamatsu said while panting, the time had passed so fast as he was fishing and talking to that man, who in his opining was really nice, that he had forgotten to go to the store. His brothers frowned a bit angry.

"Karamatsu... did you like go to all the stores around town?" Todomatsu asked thinking it was a possibility. But had they really asked for something so hard to find? No, not really.

"Karamatsu, did you get lost?" Jyushimatsu asked "The sky is already so dark... you are lucky dad didn't find out"

"I know, I know, I'm sorry" Karamatsu said now back to normal. "I came running as fast as I could, I'm sorry for not coming back a while ago"

"You said you wouldn't take your time, that you would just go and be back before I knew it" said Osomatsu "What were you doing?"

"I'm sorry, I got distracted by fishing" said Karamatsu "Hours pass flying when you fish"

"Fishing...? Karamatsu, you know how to fish?" Jyushimatsu asked making a valid point. Since when did he know how to fish?

"Ah... well yes, that's why I said I was fishing, haha" said Karamatsu understanding that telling them that wasn't really a good idea...

"And how is it that you...? Wait... you met that man again, right?" Todomatsu said in an accusing tone.

"Huh? What are you talking about? Hey... Toshiaki-san isn't the only one who knows how to fish and isn't the only one who goes to that dock" said Karamatsu making Osomatsu squint at him suspiciously.

"You called him Toshiaki-san again... tell me, Karamatsu, who else would teach you how to fish?" Osomatsu asked while still looking at him suspiciously.

"Well, that's his name!" Karamatsu said not really happy that they were bringing up the subject again. "Guys, I was going to the store but I got distracted going to the dock, there were many people fishing so I took the opportunity and went" he said with a smile, he didn't like lying but his brothers had left him no choice.

Todomatsu and Jyushimatsu seemed to believe him, they were more relaxed now and had forgiven him for getting back late.

"Oh, I understand, okay, did you buy what I asked you for?" Todomatsu asked. Karamatsu nodded and handed him the dessert he found, it was a sweet bun with custard cream filling. "Great! Thanks!"

"And I brought your onigiris, Jyushimatsu" Karamatsu said while handing them to Jyushimatsu who received them really euphoric. Karamatsu took a bag of chips and handed them to Osomatsu who took them while still staring suspiciously at him. "What...?"

"Nothing, it's nothing" Osomatsu said while deciding not to say anything, he was sure his brother would keep denying everything. Could it be true that his brother was still meeting that man? If his brother was going to keep seeing him then he would have to take a look at him and see who the man was... yeah, Osomatsu had decided to follow him another day he went out alone to meet that strange person. But... could they be exaggerating about him? Maybe it wasn't a big deal... and actually, Osomatsu really wanted to believe they were just overreacting since he didn't want to deal with another situation like Ichimatsu's... after all, bad things couldn't happen always... could they?


	3. Exasperation

**Chapter 3. Exasperation**

Osomatsu, Karamatsu, Jyushimatsu and Todomatsu woke up after hearing their father call them for breakfast, they were willing to go visit their brother as soon as they could so they had gone downstairs in a hurry to wait for their food, without noticing Choromatsu hadn't followed them; it was until they were around the table where Osomatsu noticed his younger brother was missing.

"Hey... and Choromatsu?" Osomatsu asked without understanding why he wasn't with them. The others looked at each other and noticed that effectively their brother wasn't with them.

"Hmm... maybe he didn't hear dad" said Karamatsu along with Jyushimatsu.

"You guys think so? Well, I'll go tell him we are already here" Osomatsu said while standing up, he then went upstairs to their room where Choromatsu was still sleeping. Osomatsu entered the room and stood just aside of his brother's futon.

"Choromatsu, hey, we are already having breakfast" said Osomatsu to his brother who wasn't saying anything in response. "Choromatsu?"

"Hnngh..." Choromatsu murmured after hearing his brother, he didn't feel like standing up so he found it annoying that his older brother was insisting that he did. "Not now... Osomatsu..."

"Choromatsu, we are having breakfast,are you coming?" Osomatsu said "We think on going to visit Ichimatsu after that" Choromatsu opened his eyes after that comment, oh, it was true... he had to go visit his younger brother at the hospital.

"Yeah, okay... I'm coming... I'm coming..." Choromatsu said while lifting himself up into a sitting position, though he stayed rubbing his eyes. Osomatsu stared at him a bit bored but after seeing his brother start to move he decided to go back; he had completed his mission after all.

"Come down before we eat your share!" Osomatsu said before leaving the room. Choromatsu turned to see the door and just squinted, they wouldn't do that...would they? Well, comparing them with his mom's threat of not feeding them... they were very capable of eating his share.

"No... don't eat my share..." Choromatsu said without much energy "Ugh, I feel weak..." the third brother stood up with a lot of effort and walked unsteadily towards the stairway.

The boys were waiting for Choromatsu while Matsuzo came in with their breakfast which consisted on cereal and some scrambled eggs, it wasn't much but at least he managed to cook something. After seeing the food their father had prepared, they couldn't help but think on their mother's cooking.

"Osomatsu, did you call your brother?" Matsuzo asked him as he noticed one of his sons was missing.

"Yeah, I already called Choromatsu, dad" said Osomatsu. It seemed that nobody was eating since they were waiting for their brother, not because they didn't want to eat until he got there but because their dad was making them wait for him.

"It seems your brother is taking his his time, he probably went back to sleep" said Matsuzo without finding it important "It's harsh to donate so much blood, it's better to let him sleep, I'll buy him something to eat later"

"Eh?" Osomatsu looked at his father a bit alarmed, it was true! Choromatsu had donated blood the previous day so he was probably tired and sleepy.

"Osomatsu... don't eat my food...!" Choromatsu said as loud as he could since he felt a bit dizzy but he was still trying to stop them from eating his share as Osomatsu had said.

"Choromatsu... wait! Be careful!" Osomatsu shouted as he stood up and saw how his brother was about to fall from the stairs. The eldest ran towards him and managed to keep him from getting hurt. Choromatsu looked at him a bit confused, though he noticed what was about to happen and understood his brother's actions.

"Ah... sorry, but thank you" Choromatsu said as he held his head.

"Choromatsu, don't come down like that..." Osomatsu said a bit worried as he helped him down the stairs and to where everybody was sitting.

"Son, that was dangerous" said Matsuzo to Choromatsu who sat while still holding his head. "Choromatsu?"

"Ah, I'm sorry dad, it's just that my head hurts" said Choromatsu. Matsuzo looked at Osomatsu a bit irritated at his son's careless behavior towards his brother.

"Osomatsu..." Matsuzo said in a scolding tone. Osomatsu looked down somehow ashamed before looking at Choromatsu.

"Choro... I'm sorry, I forgot you had donated blood yesterday" Osomatsu said while apologizing to his brother "I'm sorry for not helping you"

"It's okay, you still saved me from getting hurt" said Choromatsu. "And now I can go see Ichimatsu"

"Choromatsu, are you sure you want to go? You don't look good" said Todomatsu as he saw how his brother shivered. Jyushimatsu noticed this and quickly ran upstairs, Karamatsu looked in the direction Jyushimatsu had gone somehow curious.

"Ehm, where is he going?" Karamatsu mumbled as he saw him running.

"Yeah, it's fine, it's true I'm tired but I still want to see Ichimatsu" said Choromatsu with a smile. As he finished saying this, Jyushimatsu came back with a green sweatshirt and offered it to his older brother.

"Choromatsu, at least use this" Jyushimatsu said with a smile "I see you are cold"

"Ah, thank you, Jyushimatsu" said Choromatsu after wearing it "Yes, I feel better now" Karamatsu smiled after realizing Jyushimatsu's intentions.

"Hmm... I don't know, son..." Matsuzo pondered while staring at him "Although... okay, if you come along, would you like staying in your brother's room with me? I wouldn't like taking you from one place to another"

"Ah, yes, I'll be pleased" said Choromatsu. The others stared at him a bit annoyed because of their envy... but they knew their father was right so they didn't say anything about it.

"Ah... why wasn't I the one to donate blood..." Osomatsu murmured while pouting. Matsuzo laughed after hearing him.

"Don't worry, Osomatsu, I'll let you guys to stay with Ichimatsu another day. I'm sure your brother will appreciate that" said Matsuzo making the others feel better.

"Nice!" everybody exclaimed overjoyed before focusing on eating. Choromatsu smiled at seeing them eat so eagerly, they so wanted to see Ichimatsu and well he couldn't blame them since he wanted to see him as well.

 **xXxXxXxXx**

Osomatsu, Karamatsu, Choromatsu, Jyushimatsu and Todomatsu headed out of the house after they had breakfast and brushed their teeth, Matsuzo left the house looking tidy for when his wife came back, it is not that he had cleaned everything, he had just made sure everything was in place, he had cleaned the table and had washed the dishes.

In their way to the hospital, Choromatsu started to get tired fast so he ended up being carried on Matsuzo's back. The siblings looked at Choromatsu slightly worried, he just smiled back at them.

"I'm okay, I'm just tired" said Choromatsu. "After a few days I'll be back to normal"

"You better, we have enough with what happened to Ichimatsu for you to not be okay" said Todomatsu "Dad, is there anything that can help Choromatsu recover soon?"

"Eat well, drink plenty of liquids and rest" said Matsuzo "As longs as he doesn't do much physical activity his body will recover soon"

"Dad, is it always like this when donating blood?" asked Jyushimatsu with curiosity.

"Everyone has different rections, your brother isn't supposed to donate but it was recommended for future cases that could need it" said Matsuzo.

"Eh? Why shouldn't he have donated?" Karamatsu asked while arching a brow, was something wrong with his brother?

"Normally adults are the ones that donate, it's something really delicate with children... they can be affected in negative ways" said Matsuzo "But I'm not saying it's the same in all cases... however, your brother donated a lot so he is really weak right now"

"Dad... what do you mean with future cases?" Karamatsu asked.

"If something happened to one of you and blood was needed, the blood that your brother donated would be useful" said Matsuzo "But there's no reason for something to happen, it's just a way to be cautious"

"Ah... I understand..." said Karamatsu "So, if Choromatsu rests, he'll be okay... right?"

"Yes, that's right" said Matsuzo "Try not to bother your brother now that he is in this state"

"Haha, seems you got away from our teasing, it won't last though!" said Osomatsu as he snickered, however, when looking at his younger brother he could see he was sleeping peacefully. "Ah... he fell asleep"

"It's so rare to see him so calm, it's already normal to hear him whine or something" said Karamatsu. The others agreed with that statement and couldn't help but laugh.

"Don't be so harsh on him, it's true that he usually complains about something but not all the time" said Jyushimatsu. Everyone remained in silence after listening to him but wasn't long before they broke into fits of laughter.

"Come on, come on, stop teasing your brother" said Matsuzo.

"It's his fault for being that way!" It's so weird to see him so pale" said Todomatsu.

"So you better get better, Choromatsu" said Osomatsu to his youngr brother who wasn't listening since he was deeply asleep.

 **xXxXxXxXx**

Osomatsu kept walking alongside his brothers and father with direction to the hospital, they were having a pleasant conversation, totally different to how they had been after what happened to Ichimatsu. They didn't take long before approaching the hospital's entrace, when they saw it, Karamatsu and Todomatsu ran inside. Matsuzo was alarmed when seeing them run, they couldn't run in the hospital!

"Osomatsu! Go with your brothers and tell them they can't run inside that place!" said Matsuzo really altered. Osomatsu stared at him confused.

"But dad... for that I also need to run"

"I don't care! Just go and tell them to stop running!" said Matsuzo. Osomatsu left running after them a bit uncomfortable for the contradictory request of his father but he knew it was best to obey... why would his siblings leave running like that? He thought they knew they couldn't run...

"Haha, it's really noticeable that they want to see Ichimatsu" said Jyushimatsu with a smile while he entered the hospital along with his father.

"How problematic they are... I hope your brother catches up to them" said Matsuzo. Jyushimatsu nodded agreeing with his father but he then stayed looking around the place looking concerned. "Is there something wrong, son?"

"Ah... it's just I really need to go to the bathroom..." said Jyushimatsu as he kept looking around "Is there a bathroom in this place?"

"Of course there is, look, it's that way" said Matsuzo as he pointed towards a bathroom sign that was in the other side of the room. Jyushimatsu went towards it right away wishing to get to the bathroom fast. "Wait! Do you want me to go with you?!"

"There's no need, I'll see you later, dad!" Jyushimatsu replied without stopping at any moment.

"Okay! Ichimatsu's room is in the fourth floor and is the room 117!" Matsuzo shouted to his son who was grateful for the information but who didn't take long to disappear as he was more preoccupied with his current need. "Ah... it sure is hard to take care of so many kids..." Matsuzo continued his way towards his son's room while he carried Choromatsu still asleep on his back.

After a few minutes, Jyushimatsu came out of the bathroom feeling renewed. He walked back to the entrance and looked around looking lost.

"Ehmm... so, where was it?" Jyushimatsu considered his options but no matter where he looked everything looked the same, would that be the room? No... what if he went into someone else's room? The boy walked towards the hospital map that was on the wall near one of the hallways and stared at it intently. "Great! Now I'll know..." Jyushimatsu noticed he didn't understand the map very well, he also couldn't remember what his dad had told him as his mind was more mindful of finding the restroom, so even if he understood the map, he wouldn't know where to go anyway. "Uhmm... how am I supposed to know... uh... okay, I think I will just walk around the place then" Jyushimatsu preferred not thinking so much and instead decided to walk around the building, he would find them sooner or later, right?

 **xXxXxXxXx**

Matsuzo entered his son's room and inside found Osomatsu, Karamatsu and Todomatsu talking with their mother. Matsuyo looked at her husband while he closed the door.

"Dad! You sure took your time" said Karamatsu and Todomatsu at the same time.

"Boys, you shouldn't run in the hospital" said Matsuzo while frowning slightly. "This place deserves respect and so you can't go around making noise and causing problems"

"We are sorry" said Karamatsu and Todomatsu at the same time while looking down.

"In my case, I saw the huge building and couldn't help but run inside to look for the elevator" said Karamatsu in a contemplative way. Matsuzo didn't look happy for the comment. "It's just that when I'm in places that look like hotels I can't help it! Haha"

"Osomatsu, the hospital isn't a hotel... you should be more careful, son" said Matsuyo to Karamatsu who just stared back in silence.

"Mom, I'm Karamatsu" said Karamatsu as he then pointed at Osomatsu who was just watching the scene without saying anything. "He is Osomatsu"

"Mom, dad asked me to tell these two about not running" said Osomatsu while looking at Todomatsu and Karamatsu who looked a bit embarrassed for that.

"I see, then... Karamatsu, Jyushimatsu, promise me you won't run in the hospital anymore" said Matsuyo to the boys in front of her.

"Okay, mom..." both said, though, Todomatsu arched a brow and scratched the back of his head.

"Mom, I'm Todomatsu" said Todomatsu to his mother who felt bad for confusing them. "But now that you mention it... where is Jyushimatsu?"

"Your brother went to the restroom, I gave him the room number and the floor; he shouldn't take too long" said Matsuzo, who assumed by elimination process that the one that had gone to the restroom had been Jyushimatsu.

"Ah... He'll surely get lost!" Osomatsu exclaimed as he laughed, however, his mother made him keep silence. Osomatsu looked at Ichimatsu who kept sleeping and understood that he shouldn't laugh too loud.

"If it's like that then you'll have to go look for him" said Matsuyo to Osomatsu who didn't look happy to hear that.

"Eh? Why me?" Osomatsu asked while feeling annoyed by his mother's request, he didn't feel like going for his brother. "Ah... let's wait a bit, I'm sure Jyushi will find the room"

"But you just said that he'll surely get lost..." said Todomatsu while squinting at him. Osomatsu rubbed under his nose and smiled pretty confident.

"It was only a baseless joke, as long as he knows the number and floor, I'm sure he'll come here before we know it" said Osomatsu. Todomatsu and Karamatsu looked at him boredly.

"Unless he forgot" said Karamatsu. Osomatsu smiled while contemplating the possibility but just chuckled nervously in response.

"I don't think so, let's give him the benefit of the doubt" said Osomatsu who really didn't want to go out to look for him. "By the way, dad, Choromatsu isn't awake yet?" While trying to change the subject, Osomatsu focused on his dad who had put Choromatsu on one of the sofas.

"Oh, poor thing... he sure is tired..." said Matuyo as he saw him somehow concerned.

"No, he is still asleep, but it's fine, let's allow him to rest" said Matsuzo while watching his son sleep peacefully. He then turned to see Osomatsu and sighed, he knew his son didn't want to look for his other brother but he had to. "Osomatsu, please, go look for your brother"

"Eh? But I..." murmured Osomatsu as he saw he had failed to make them forget the subject. "Ah... okay, okay... I'm going, I'm going..." the young one stood up and left the room without saying anything else.

"Dad, do you want me to go as well?" Karamatsu asked "I don't mind" Todomatsu elbowed him clearly not appreciating his brother's offer, he thought that if his brother offered then it meant he would have to go as well.

"Don't worry, son, it's your brother's responsibility to look for him" said Matsuzo "Besides, it's better that only one of you goes, Todomatsu"

"Dad, I'm Karamatsu" said Karamatsu without understanding how could his father get it wrong when they hadn't moved. Matsuzo ignored the correction and just kept talking to Matsuyo. "Okay, I guess it's better to stay here for when Ichimatsu wakes up"

"Yes, yes, I agree with that" said Todomatsu satisfied of knowing he wouldn't have to move from his place. Karamatsu looked at him in disbelief making Todomatsu stare back confused. "What?"

 **xXxXxXxXx**

"Ah... so... where am I?" Jyushimatsu was currently walking around the second floor looking really disoriented, he was starting to worry for not being able to find his way, he was getting impatient since he wanted to see Ichimatsu soon. "Maybe it's this way..." the boy turned around the corner and noticed he was heading to a very suspicious place, a place where he doubted were the patient rooms. "Okay... it's not this way"

Jyushimatsu turned back from where he came from and ran into Chibita who was coming out from a room. Jyushimatsu looked at him curiously, what was he doing in the hospital?

"Chibita!" Jyushimatsu exclaimed as he approached the shorter kid. Chibita looked at him and automatically frowned, he wasn't very pleased to see him. "Chibita, what are you doing here?"

"It's none of your business, Osomatsu" said Chibita. Jyushimatsu laughed at hearing the other and shook his head.

"No, no, I'm Jyushimatsu" said Jyushimatsu with a smile "So, what are you doing here?"

"I already told you it's none of your business" said Chibita without caring for getting the name wrong, he was one of the annoying brothers after all, nothing would change even if he wasn't Osomatsu.

"Are you injured? Were you in an accident?" Jyushimatsu asked to the other who was staring puzzled yet angry at him.

"I..." Chibita was starting to wonder if he would get him to leave if he answered him since the other was doing nothing but propose different excuses for him to be in the hospital.

"Ah! Are you lost as well? This place is huge!" said Jyushimatsu as he looked around "The hallways seem never ending and wherever I go everything looks the same"

"Are you stupid or something...?" Chibita wondered how he could get lost when there were maps scattered around the building. "How can you get lost if there are maps?"

"Ah, It's just I sincerely can't figure them out" said Jyushimatsu "I've been trying to get to my brother's room for a while but I can't seem to find it"

"Brother...? One of you ended here?" Chibita asked sounding interested.

"Yes, my brother Ichimatsu is in recovery, he got hurt two days ago" said Jyushimatsu. Chibita smiled when hearing that, it was like music to his ears. "Eh? Is something funny?"

"It was about time something happened to you guys, stupid sextuplets" said Chibita while crossing his arms and nodding. Jyushimatsu arched a brow and looked oblivious to what he meant.

"Uhmm, what are you talking about?"

"It was about time that life got back at you all, you guys don't do anything but be annoying all the time, so... haha!" said Chibita in a mocking tone. Jyushimatsu wasn't happy with Chibita's attitude but decided not to get angry, it wasn't like he didn't have his reasons but... that had been cruel from his part.

"But it wasn't something minor, Ichimatsu ended up really injured..." said Jyushimatsu sounding really down. Chibita remained in silence for a moment but he then smiled.

"As I said, you guys deserved that" said Chibita without caring what the other was saying "Anyway, you are on the wrong side of the hospital, if you want to find the patient rooms you should go to the other side, you won't find anything over here" Jyushimatsu looked at him without understanding why he was helping him after expressing his joy for one of his brothers to be wounded.

"I understand..." Jyushimatsu murmured. Chibita kept walking with the intention of getting away from the annoying brother, however, as he remembered something, he stopped and turned to see him.

"By the way, there's a weird man walking around the hospital, it'll be best for you to be careful" said Chibita as he wanted to tell that to someone, it had been too weird for him.

"Huh?" Jyushimatsu stared at Chibita and stayed intrigued by what had been said as well as a bit worried, a weird man?

"It was a man wearing a nurse's outfit, it gave me the creeps when I saw him..." Chibita said to Jyushimatsu who was listening intently. Once said that, Chibita simply left without saying anything else.

"A man dressed as a nurse...?" Jyushimatsu wondered without understanding what he meant "Did he mean a male nurse?" the fifth brother laughed at assuming the shorter boy had not seen a male nurse before and so had gotten scared. "Wow, Chibita is so weird... but, could it be we treat him so bad that he would get happy over us getting injured...? Hmm... anyway, Ichimatsu is waiting!" Jyushimatsu said to himself as he went to the direction Chibita had pointed out.

Jyushimatsu walked to the other side of the building, he was feeling frustrated but he was still fine... he found the hospital to be discouraging as he saw people entering looking pretty bad or wounded, not to mention when he saw paramedics hurrying other people to the emergency room, families crying... he could even hear wailing as he walked through the hallways... yeah, surely the hospital at night would be a frightening experience; as he was walking without paying attention, a door opened and ended up startling him. Jyushimatsu quickly ran and hid behind a wall as a response, huh? why was he hiding? Without understanding his own actions, Jyushimatsu peeked from where he was to see the reason for his hiding.

"Ugh, I can't believe I have to dress this way again" said the person "It's humilliating, but at least they let me do things my way... except for this horrible outfit"

Jyushimatsu observed what it looked like... a man... wearing a skirt? Analyzing his appearance, the boy deduced his outfit was that of a nurse's... wait, a nurse? Could he had been the person Chibita was talking about? If he was then he understood why Chibita had found him suspicious...

"Jyushimatsu! So here you are!" Osomatsu said as he approached Jyushimatsu. Jyushimatsu felt how he was about to have a heart attack when his brother had spoke, but without further ado, he pulled Osomatsu and hid him from the suspicious man's sight... without noticing that the man had turned to look from the corner of his eye as he had heard the voice. "Hey... what's wrong?" Osomatsu tried asking but Jyushimatsu only covered his mouth in an attempt to hide themselves.

Jyushimatsu was behind the wall along with Osomatsu who was against the wall trying to get his brother's hand away without much success. Jyushimatsu felt how his body froze as he listened to the footsteps getting closer, oh no... what would he do? what would he do? Anything but staying there, that's what he had decided, that man couldn't see them there, who knows what he would do once he found them. Jyushimatsu uncovered his brother's mouth and instead took him by the wrist and ran away; Osomatsu didn't understand what was going on but he preferred letting the other pull him, it could be because of something important after all.

The man peeked towards the hallway where he had heard the sound of people running, had someone listened to him? How much had they heard? It didn't matter, if he was caught he would only need to get rid of the person, but... would he look for the person dressed like he was? No, he wouldn't, he would keep doing what he was set to do and if he saw signs of a witness then he would dispose of them, there was a possibility that it had been some young children running or someone else without much importance, so, he shouldn't make things bigger than they were, he couldn't act without thinking.

On his part, Jyushimatsu kept running without knowing when to stop, Osomatsu ran as he was being pulled, he didn't understand what was going on and he was starting to get impatient.

"Jyushimatsu! Hey! Jyushimatsu!" Osomatsu shouted as he ran, the younger one seemed not to listen "Jyushimatsu! Stop! We can't run here! Jyushimatsu!"

"Ah!" Jyushimatsu stopped after hearing Osomatsu, it was true, they were in a hospital after all... "Osomatsu... uhmm, I..."

"Jyushimatsu, what's wrong?" Osomatsu asked now calm. Jyushimatsu looked worried and that made Osomatsu feel uneasy as well.

"It's just..." Jyushimatsu murmured without knowing how to explain that he had gotten startled without reason and that he had run away without knowing if he really had to, he just felt it was best to do so. "I felt we needed to get away from that place"

"Ah? You felt we needed to...? Why...?" Osomatsu asked as he arched a brow in seeming confusion. "Was there anything there?"

"I thought I saw a suspicious man, I was hiding when you appeared out of nowhere..." said Jyushimatsu as he tried to explain. Osomatsu still didn't understand but what he could figure out by what he was saying... he had appeared randomly and therefore had startled him.

"Oh, sorry, I didn't mean to startle you, haha" said Osomatsu "Okay, let's go, our parents are worried because you are taking your time"

"Uh... yes, okay" Jyushimatsu said without knowing if it would be a good idea to tell him about the man, it's not like he needed to, right?

 **xXxXxXxXx**

 _Ichimatsu was lying on the floor as he protected the kitties, the man had knelt close to him and was now stabbing him repeatedly, the young boy was bearing the pain while the meowing turned louder. Ichimatsu tried to make the kitties feel better but in his situation that was impossible, he could only feel the intense sting on his skin as it tore while receiving the impacts._

 _"Don't w-worry... don't cry..." Ichimatsu said with every opportunity he had to speak, the man seemed to turn even more aggressive when hearing him speak to the cats, he found it sickening, it was insufferable._

 _"You are nothing but trash! You can't do anything for them! You don't have the strenght! You'll end up in hell for your stupidity!" the man shouted as he kept stabbing the fourth brother._

 _"T-trash..." the young one muttered as he heard his words "No... I will protect them... I will protect them..." Ichimatsu closed his eyes as he tried shielding the small ones, he wouldn't let him hurt them, he wouldn't._

 _"You are nothing but a weak child! A useless child!" the man shouted enraged, Ichimatsu tried ignoring his hurtful words as he had decided to protect them even if it costed him his life._

 _"And so what that you manage to save them? Thing I doubt... there are more cats I can use to have fun!"_

"NOOOOO!" Ichimatsu woke up abruptly. The others in the room looked at him really startled. "NOO! NOO! NOOO!" the young boy kept screaming as he hid his head with his arms. His parents stood up to see what he had but nothing they were doing or saying was working, Ichimatsu wasn't stopping, he wouldn't stop having that tense posture. Karamatsu and Todomatsu, however, looked at the scene completely frightened, they wanted to do something for their brother but their dad kept telling them to stay where they were, he didn't think it was prudent for many people to try to do something at the same time.

Osomatsu had listened to the screaming coming from the room so he ran along with Jyushimatsu into the room. What he saw was really concerning. His younger brother was screaming while hiding his head behind his arms, he sounded in pain, he looked like someone was currently hurting him, what could be happening to him?

"NOO! DON'T KILL HER! DON'T HURT THEM! NO!" Ichimatsu screamed while in his mind he kept watching the man hurting the mother as well as the kitties he so desired to protect.

"Ichimatsu! Calm down!" Osomatsu shouted as he approached his brother, his mother saw how his son wanted to try something so she moved away to allow him to try what he wanted. "Ichimatsu! Everything is fine! You protected them! They are alive!"

"NOO! NOO!" Ichimatsu kept screaming as tears rolled down his face, Osomatu noticed this so he simply embraced him and caressed his head in an attempt to make him calm down.

"Ichimatsu... everything is fine, the kitties are okay, you saved them" Osomatsu told him in a really soft voice as he tried to make his brother feel safe, he thought shouting would lead nowhere so he hoped he would calm down by speaking softly. "You are in the hospital with your brothers and your parents, nothing is happening, you are okay, you are safe"

"But... but... I..." _I'm trash,_ thought as he remembered how he hadn't been able to save the mother. Osomatsu kept caressing his head while telling him comforting words and repeated over and over how he was safe and that everything was over. "Osomatsu..."

The others observed how Ichimatsu calmed down and allowed his older brother to embrace him, he was still sobbing but he was gradually composing himself. The brothers looked relieved at how Osomatsu had managed to solve the situation and were feeling better to see that Ichimatsu was no longer scared.

"Ichimatsu... are you okay?" Osomatsu asked him while holding him, Ichimatsu nodded slowly, thing that Osomatsu could feel while having his brother so close.

"I... I thought I was living that moment again... I'm sorry..." Ichimatsu said now feeling bad for having scared everybody. "I couldn't see nor hear anything of what you were saying... not until later..."

"I understand... I'm just glad you are okay" Osomatsu said as he slowly moved away and stayed caressing his head "You really scared us"

"I'm sorry..." said Ichimatsu before turning to see his parents who were staring at him really concerned "Mom, dad... I'm sorry" Matsuzo and Matsuyo approached their son and hugged him really happy.

"Don't worry, Ichimatsu, everything is okay, you didn't do anything wrong" said his parents making him blush because of all the attention; he frowned slightly feeling a bit awkward.

"Hey... stop, please" said Ichimtasu. His parents released him slowly and instead made a gesture for his brothers to come.

"Ichimatsu!" Karamatsu hugged him as he felt guilty for not being able to help. "I'm sorry!"

"Ichimatsu, don't do that again!" Todomatsu said while hugging him as well. Ichimatsu soon regretted everything that had just happened, he felt bad for having screamed like that, he felt bad for needing Osomatsu to hug him and comfort him... everything was embarrassing to him in that moment. After a little while, Osomatsu decided to make them stop as he saw how awkward he felt.

"Guys, stop, Ichimatsu wants some space" said Osomatsu to his brothers who released him right away once hearing that. "Ichimatsu, don't feel bad"

"Uh... I..." Ichimatsu mumbled without knowing what to say "This doesn't happen often, I swear" the younger one flushed again as he thought on how foolish he must have looked. Jyushimatsu approached his brother and waited for him too look his way. "What is it...?"

"Ichimatsu, I know you are still worried about the kittens but... they are doing good, I took them to a shelter, one of the good ones, they told me that you can go see them later if you want" said Jyushimatsu "So, you don't have to keep tormenting yourself for thinking it was in vain"

"Jyushimatsu..." Ichimatsu murmured as he felt better now that he had heard that "Thank you" the boy smiled sincerely, what his younger brother had said was all his mind needed.

Time after the incident, everyone stayed making him company and talking to Ichimatsu for some more time, they were all worried about him, specially his parents who hadn't managed to calm him down. Time passed until his parents stood up with the intention of going out for bit.

"Ichimatsu, we'll go to the shop to buy you something, want anything special?" his mother asked him.

"Uhmmm... no, nothing in particular... whatever you buy is fine" said Ichimatsu as he saw how his parents walked towards the door and asked Osomatsu to take care of him before leaving. "Why..."

"I think they are respecting the rule of the number of people in the room" said Todomatsu "Surely we'll have to leave the room once they come back"

"Oh... I see..." Ichimatsu murmured as he then saw his older brother asleep on the sofa. "Choromatsu?" the others in the room turned to see the third brother who was still asleep.

"Wow, seems nothing wakes him up, not even Ichimatsu's screaming" said Osomatsu finding it funny.

"What's wrong with Choromatsu?" Ichimatsu asked as he was curious of seeing him like that.

"Ah, he is just a little tired, he's been asleep since we arrived" said Karamatsu "Hmm, it is normal, right?"

"Yeah, dad said that it was best for him to sleep... he'll recover soon that way" said Todomatsu. Ichimatsu didn't seem to understand.

"Uhmmm... is he sick?" Ichimatsu asked. The others looked skeptical, didn't he know about the blood donation?

"Ichimatsu... Choromatsu..." before Todomatsu could finish to say what he wanted, Osomatsu interrupted.

"It looks like he's coming down with a cold, haha, we don't know why" said Osomatsu "But he's been tired all the time"

"Ah... I see..." Ichimatsu said while still staring. Todomatsu looked at Osomatsu looking for an explanation for having been interrupted like that; Osomatsu just smiled.

"Todomatsu, I'm sure Choro doesn't want Ichimatsu to know what he did for him" said Osomatsu discretely as Ichimatsu kept looking at Choromatsu.

"That's weird... why wouldn't he want to?" Todomatsu asked without understanding his brother's reasons.

"He probably doesn't want Ichimatsu to feel guilty about it" said Karamatsu discretely as well "And it's understandable, Ichimatsu is really sensitive right now, we need to avoid those kind of comments or to stress him with other things"

"Hmm... maybe he'll wake up if we poke him with something..." said Ichimatsu while smiling to his own idea "Although he'll probably get angry if I did that"

"Ichimatsu, it's not right to bother Choromatsu when he is like this" said Jyushimatsu while thinking on whether to tell or not to tell Osomatsu about that man from before, of course, if he told him... it had to be outside of the room.

"Guys, I'll go to the vending machine to buy some chips, want something?" asked Osomatsu.

"No, I'm good like this, thanks though" said Todomatsu while looking at Osomatsu. Osomatsu then looked at Ichimatsu.

"Ichimatsu, do you want anything?"

"Huh? But mom said she went to buy something for me... no, it's fine like this, I'll wait for mom" said Ichimatsu to Osomatsu who was about to leave.

"Oh, oh, I'll go with you, Osomatsu" said Karamatsu as he followed Osomatsu. Jyushimatsu took the opportunity and volunteered to go as well, leaving Todomatsu alone with Ichimatsu and a sleeping Choromatsu.

 **xXxXxXxXx**

The boys went out in search for the vending machine while Jyushimatsu followed them in complete silence. They took the elevator to the third floor and finally arrived to where it was. Jyushimatsu knew that he had to tell them soon before they went back to the room.

"Osomatsu..." said Jyushimatsu without knowing how to explain him about the man. Karamatsu looked at him while Osomatsu was focused on buying his chips.

"What's wrong, Jyushimatsu?" Karamatsu asked after seeing his brother look worried. Jyushimatsu looked at Karamatsu and considered telling him as well... although well, it's not like he wouldn't listen to what he told Osomatsu... so, it didn't matter.

"Oh, it's about before... when Osomatsu went to look for me" said Jyushimatsu. Osomatsu picked up his chips after choosing which ones he wanted and then looked at his younger brother.

"Are you talking about when you got startled and left running?" Osomatsu asked.

"Yeah" said Jyushimatsu plainly. Karamatsu looked at them puzzled, Osomatsu noticed Karamatsu's expression and decided to explain.

"What happens is that I went to look for Jyushimatsu, dad asked me to, remember?" Karamatsu nodded "Well, when I found him, Jyushimatsu got startled and left running while pulling me from the arm"

"Ah? Why would you do something like that, Jyushimatsu?" Karamatsu asked to the fifth brother.

"Uhm... when Osomatsu approached me, I was trying to hide from a weird man" said Jyushimatsu making the others curious.

"Weird? What do you mean?" asked both.

"He was wearing a nurse's outfit, he looked really hostile..." said Jyushimatsu as he felt shivers while remembering it.

"Nurse..." murmured both before Osomatsu started laughing really loud. Karamatsu looked at him along with Jyushimatsu wondering what had been so funny.

"Osomatsu, what are you laughing about?" Jyushimatsu asked without understanding his older brother who looked back mockingly.

"Jyushimatsu, there are men in the hospital dressed like that... because they are nurses" said Osomatsu with a smile so big that it threatened to turn into annoying laughter. Jyushimatsu looked at him incredulously before frowning in response.

"I know there are male nurses! You don't have to say it!" said Jyushimatsu a little irritated that what he had thought about Chibita's comment was used against him.

"Well, if you knew that you wouldn't do those kind of comments" said Osomatsu as he laughed again.

"Osomatsu, I'm telling you I know!" said Jyushimatsu feeling how angry he got every time his brother mocked him, instead, Karamatsu just stared at them without knowing what to think.

"Haha, yes, because I just told you" said Osomatsu to his brother who simply couldn't believe his attitude.

"No! I already knew that!"

"Sure, sure, of course you did" said Osomatsu "Pfft, I can barely believe we ran away from something silly like that" the eldest tried restraining himself but failed miserably as laughter wouldn't leave him alone.

"Osomatsu... listen to me!" exclaimed the younger one to the eldest who didn't seem would stop laughing soon.

"Jyushimatsu, don't feel bad about that, I know that I'm laughing but I'm not judging you" said Osomatsu between his laughter "But that you were hiding from him is what's killing me"

"I'm telling you that I already knew he was a nurse!" shouted Jyushimatsu without noticing his mistake.

"Oh? So you are scared of nurses?" Osomatsu asked while trying to control himself but clearly suffering from wanting to laugh again.

"What? ...no! I didn't mean that! That man wasn't a nurse!" exclaimed Jyushimatsu as he realized his mistake, he had shouted something that wasn't true for being too upset.

"Jyushimatsu, calm down, don't mind him" said Karamatsu trying to quell his brother's anger, however, he just got angrier since he assumed Karamatsu also believed nurses scared him.

"Osomatsu! Listen to me!" Jyushimatsu tried once more as he was losing his patience. Osomatsu seemed to not care about his brother getting gradually angrier, in fact, that made it even funnier.

"And to think I worried over nothing, haha, Jyushimatsu, sometimes you are too weird" Osomatsu said finally calming down "But it's fine, everyone has their own fears so I won't judge you"

"..." Jyushimatsu kept silent after realizing it was useless to tell him, his brother wouldn't listen... and even if he did, would he believe him? No, probably not.

"Jyushimatsu? Hey" Osomatsu said trying to make the other say something. "What did the nurse do? Did he offer you a vaccine or something like that?"

"It's nothing, just forget it" said Jyushimatsu as he walked in the other direction, he needed to calm down and for that he needed to get away from Osomatsu. The other two stared at him questioningly, where was he going?

"Hey! Jyushimatsu! Where do you think you are going?" Osomatsu asked to his younger brother who kept walking away from them.

"Away from you" said Jyushimatsu really mad, he then turned to stare at both brothers who could not get why their younger brother was so angry. "Don't even bother following me, Osomatsu" Jyushimatsu then turned away from them and left.

"What? Jyushimatsu... Wait! What about Ichi...?!" Karamatsu tried to follow him but Osomatsu just stopped him by stretching his arm as a sign to stop. "Osomatsu, why...?"

"Let him, if he wants to leave that's fine" said Osomatsu. Karamatsu stared at him without imagining why that was the best decision, was Osomatsu angry as well?

"Osomatsu, are you angry as well?" Karamatsu asked to Osomatsu who just sighed and turned to look in another direction.

"Not really, he can do whatever he feels like" said Osomatsu after hearing in his mind the last words used by his younger brother before leaving. "Come on, he'll come after he calms down"

"Meaning you are indeed angry..." murmured Karamatsu as he followed Osomatsu inside the elevator. Osomatsu looked at the buttons and pressed the number '4', he looked at the numbers intently while he thought with irritation on the tone Jyushimatsu had used when talking before walking away. "Osomatsu, you know that Jyushimatsu has all the right to get angry, right?"

"What I said wasn't even that bad" said Osomatsu "He is a crybaby" Karamatsu looked at him in disbelief as he saw his brother's angry expression, he thought the crybaby was him since he couldn't bear his younger brother, who often spoke nicely to him, speaking harshly instead.

"Osomatsu, you were mocking him when he was trying to tell us something" said Karamatsu.

"Yeah, I was mocking him but normally he doesn't take things that way" said Osomatsu "What's so wrong about teasing him a little? Didn't you find funny that he got scared of a nurse?"

"He could have been startled by him appearing out of nowhere like you did, it happens to everyone" said Karamatsu. "I just thought it was weird the way he was getting angry every time you said something... it's not normal, it's true, but... it's still valid for him to leave so angry"

"I still think he exaggerated" said Osomatsu just when the elevator had reached the floor. The doors opened and both boys walked to their brother's room.

"Osomatsu, you weren't letting him speak, anybody gets angry over that" said Karamatsu "In fact, if he didn't get angry by the teasing... he probably got angry at your constant interrupting"

"Hmm, well that's true... but, I don't care, I'll keep thinking that if he needs to calm down then good for him" said Osomatsu. Karamatsu sighed at seeing his brother was resenting his younger brother's attitude.

"I think you are the one that needs to chill... but okay, I'm sure that when he feels better then he'll come, at least he already knows where Ichimatsu's room is" said Karamatsu "I hope he tells us what he wanted when he comes back"

"I don't care if he doesn't tell me" said Osomatsu. Karamatsu punched his brother slightly to try and make him reason.

"Osomatsu, I'm sure Jyushimatsu didn't want to make you feel bad, don't get so angry with him, recognize that you were wrong" said Karamatsu. Osomatsu looked at him fed up of his lecturing.

"Okay, okay, I got it" said Osomatsu as he held the door's knob "I'll just forget it because it's annoying to hear you talking like you were older than me, it's annoying seeing you so composed"

"Eh? What are you talking about? What does it have to do with whether I'm or not the eldest? I'm your brother and I can tell you stuff too, you're not the only one that can do that" said Karamatsu as he saw how Osomatsu covered his ears. "Hey!"

"Stop now, it's really painful to hear you" said Osomatsu to then open the door and walk in greeting the rest of his brothers. Karamatsu stayed at the door baffled at what had just happened... was it really so weird of him to say things like those? But it was clear that Osomatsu had been really childish with Jyushimatsu... anyway, Karamatsu decided to drop the subject and simply walked into the room waiting for his younger brother to not take so long in coming back, it was really concerning to see him angry... Was it so important what he wanted to say?


	4. Euforia

**A/N: Just wanted to notify you guys that I'll stop writing 'niisan' from now on, actually, I erased the 'niisan's' from the previous chapters to mantain the coherence... this correction was made since in '-kun' the siblings didn't call each other that.**

 **Chapter 4. Euforia**

Osomatsu entered Ichimatsu's room leaving his second brother really puzzled at the door, he looked at Choromatsu and Todomatsu holding a pleasant conversation. The boys already in the room looked at Osomatsu and smiled.

"Osomatsu! Look, Choromatsu is up" said Todomatsu. Choromatsu looked at him without understanding why that was relevant.

"Haha, I see, I'm happy to see you are awake" said Osomatsu as he entered and sat on the sofa. Karamatsu walked in and closed the door behind him. Karamatsu kept thinking on Jyushimatsu, he tried to deduce what his brother wanted to say, he tried imagining his intentions but no, it didn't matter how much he tried, it didn't come to mind the reason for his brother to be so worried about a nurse.

"Ah? Did I sleep a lot or something?" Choromatsu asked the others who simply nodded. Karamatsu walked towards the sofa and sat between Osomatsu and Todomatsu.

"Hmm... not really, but we are surprised to see you awake and not asleep" said Karamatsu "We thought you'd be that way for a few more hours"

"I see... well, actually, I still feel sleepy... but I woke up because I started to hear voices" said Choromatsu "That's better since I didn't want to remain asleep and not talk to Ichimatsu"

" That reminds me... Choromatsu, are you sick?" Ichimatsu asked to Choromatsu who stayed silent for a moment, he then nodded. "What was that silence? Choromatsu..."

"Ah, I really don't know what it is, these days I've been feeling tired... I just need to sleep haha" Choromatsu said as he tried to avoid the blood donation subject. Ichimatsu looked at him suspiciously.

"Tired? But two days ago you were complaing about having to stay home, you looked really eager to do something... you didn't look like you needed to sleep" said Ichimatsu.

"Ah... that is..." Choromatsu murmured while trying to find a reasonable excuse.

"Choromatsu, tell me what happened" Ichimatsu said as he then turned to see the others. "I'm asking you since I don't trust them telling me the truth" Osomatsu, Todomatsu and Karamatsu looked at Ichimatsu really alarmed by the comment.

"Uh... well..." Choromatsu said as he then avoided his stare, he really didn't want to tell him he had donated blood, he didn't know how he would take it and less when it looked like his emotional state was really delicate, not like Osomatsu's but in a way in which he didn't know what to say and what not to say.

"Hey, and Jyushimatsu? Wasn't he with you two?" Todomatsu asked while trying to change the subject. Ichimatsu looked at Osomatsu and Karamatsu and noticed that in fact, yes, Jyushimatsu wasn't with them.

"Yeah, what happened to Jyushimatsu?" Ichimatsu asked his older brothers forgetting the previous subject. Choromatsu was glad that his younger brother had distracted Ichimatsu.

"He was with us but he decided to go take a walk" Osomatsu said a bit mad. Karamatsu stared at him not really happy by the way his brother had said that.

"Ah? He went to take a walk?" Choromatsu asked "I hope he doesn't go around entering places he shouldn't, after all... the hospital isn't a place to play"

"I don't think he'll do something like that, dad already told him he can't run in here... so I'm sure he won't go into places he shouldn't" said Karamatsu.

"He probably went to hide from us or something" said Osomatsu "But it's okay"

"Osomatsu, what did you do?" Choromatsu asked his brother while frowning, Osomatsu looked at him never minding the question, he hadn't done anything wrong.

"Nothing, I did nothing, Jyushimatsu just started saying weird stuff and just left" Osomatsu said while summarizing what had happened. Karamatsu sighed at this.

"Osomatsu was teasing Jyushimatsu, Jyushimatsu got angry and left" said Karamatsu "I can't blame him, Osomatsu got insufferable" Osomatsu looked annoyed at him, he didn't want to be lectured again.

"Why? What did he say to anger him?" Choromatsu asked along with Todomatsu. Osomatsu didn't appreciate that the focus was now on his mini dispute with his younger brother... but as long as Choromatsu wasn't forced to tell Ichimatsu about the blood donationg, he decided to explain.

"He started to tell me that a man dressed as a nurse had appeared and I suppose he tried to say that he found him suspcious or something" said Osomatsu while finding it funny again... however, without being able to say anything else, Choromatsu, Ichimatsu and Todomatsu started to laugh. "See? It is funny! Jyushimatsu has issues" Karamatsu was really not pleased that they were laughing the same way Osomatsu was doing.

"Osomatsu, men that are dressed as nurses... are male nurses" the three said. Osomatsu and Karamatsu stared confused at them, but after a bit, Osomatsu frowned realizing that they had misunderstood.

"What? I already-" Osomatsu tried to refute but his younger brothers interrupted him.

"Osomatsu, I can't believe you haven't seen a male nurse before" said Choromatsu while still laughing.

"I thought you knew a lot about this place after coming with Ichimatsu... but to not know about the male nurses is... is..." Todomatsu, Ichimatsu and Choromatsu kept laughing; there was no way to know when they'd stop.

Osomatsu kept silence and looked really irritated, why wouldn't they let him speak? It wasn't that funny anyway... oh, Osomatsu suddenly recognized his mistake. Karamatsu held one of his shoulders and simply shook his head.

"Yeah, yeah, I understand, I shouldn't have mocked him" said Osomatsu now aware that what he had done had been stupid and childish. "Should we go look for him?"

"Let's give him some time, it's true that he left really mad at you but I'm sure he'll be back feeling better" said Karamatsu. Osomatsu nodded and instead turned to stare at his brothers who were still laughing, it was annoying but at least he was happy to see Ichimatsu laughing.

 **xXxXxXxXx**

Jyushimatsu wandered through the halls after having left his brothers behind, at the moment he was really mad at his brother's attitude, his anger was so intense that he wasn't planning on going back until way later. The young one wanted to lose himself in his thoughts for a while, he didn't want to be bothered... thing that he wouldn't manage to do in a hospital, he couldn't lose himself in his world since he had to mind where he was going and move if nurses and doctors were headed his way.

After a few minutes of dodging people and trying to find the perfect place to sit and think, Jyushimatsu could feel a strong headache... yeah, he was fed up so he decided to look for a room that was empty... he wouldn't be bothered and so he'd have his so longed peace.

"Ah... why is it so hard to find a place to sit and stay there? And the worst thing is that when I do find somewhere then I get a bad vibe to stay away..." Said Jyushimatsu as he peeked inside the rooms "Hospitas are really unpleasant, this depressing sensation is everywhere... I hope Ichimatsu gets better soon"

After a while, Jyushimatsu found an empty room, not the best area since it was kinda far away and somehow hidden, though, Jyushimatsu found it to be perfect; he entered the room and closed the door in an attempt to not be disturbed.

"Nice, at last I found an empty place" said Jyushimatsu as he looked around. As he thought about his brothers looking in the room to see if he was there, he decided to hide under the bed. "Okay, I'm sure they won't find me here, haha, hmm... it makes me feel like if I was playing hide and seek..."

Originally, Jyushimatsu had tried looking for the hospital's exit as to go outside and breathe some fresh air but after not being able to find it, he decided to look for a second option, he knew it wasn't the best decision to hide in a room that could be occupied, but at the moment he didn't mind, in fact, he didn't even want to stay long, he only needed a few minutes and then he would leave.

"Stupid Osomatsu, it's really maddening that he doesn't let me speak..." Jyushimatsu mumbled to himself "Although, well, maybe I exaggerated a little..." Jyushimatsu remembered Karamatsu's expression and reflected on his own attitude... he may have seemed crazy to his brothers, maybe he had only said incoherences... no, he hadn't said incoherences, he was sure that what he had said was perfectly reasonable. "But I normally don't react that way... was I that affected by what Osomatsu said?"

Jyushimatsu considered that his behavior had beed too exaggerated, even foolish... it wasn't enough reason to have a fight, but... Why was he still feeling that unpleasantness? The young one considered that the situation didn't deserve that response and the most logical conclusion was to go back but... why was his body not moving?

He contemplated that it was really awkward when one recognized they were acting ridiculous...thing that discouraged him from going back to the room even more... he felt really stupid and childish in that moment, he knew it wasn't the most mature nor the most normal thing to stay under a hospital bed; he knew it was silly and he probably deserved some teasing but... it didn't matter how much he criticized himself in his mind... he didn't have the energy to move from where he was.

Jyushimatsu kept his position under the bed and remained staring into nothingness, his mind was telling him to get out of there and to go back to the room, to stop acting like an idiot. He felt it was best to leave where he was, for some reason something told him it wasn't a safe place, it told him to hurry and leave... but Jyushimatsu seemed not to respond, it was like both ideas were floating in his mind whereas his focus was elsewhere. The raven haired wanted to explain what he felt, he suddenly laughed mockingly, grin that was directed at himself.

"What a way to throw a tantrum" said Jyushimatsu who knew that apathetic sensation and distancing from his instincts and thoughts were result of that particular one that had gotten stuck in his being... yes, he was throwing a tantrum. "I know I'm throwing a tantrum and I know I won't be able to move until I stop feeling this way... I also know I shouldn't be here... but... I'll go when it passes, I'll just be here for a few minutes..." after saying this, Jyushimatsu closed his eyes and remained contemplating his thoughts in total silence.

 **xXxXxXxXx**

Hours passed and eventually it started getting dark. The Matsuno family had been holding a pleasant conversation during the day, the parents sometimes left and sometimes one or two of their children went out to walk, but it was a fact that they had been all morning, afternoon and part of the night on the hospital, now that it was dark they couldn't help feeling tired, specially Matsuyo.

Though, Todomatsu had fallen asleep so he didn't notice his mother had left the room. Matsuzo entered the room after having a talk with the doctor and then realized his son was asleep on the sofa, he knew Karamatsu and Osomatsu had said something about going to the bathroom before going to where Matsuyo was, so he deduced it was his youngest son lying there.

"Todomatsu" Matsuzo said hoping not to get it wrong, he didn't want to feel bad for waking Choromatsu who had been sleeping for long periods of time throughout the day. Matsuzo gingerly shook his son from his shoulder in attempt to wake him up. Todomatsu opened his eyes slowly and stared at his father after rubbing his eyes with his arm.

"Dad? What's the matter?" Todomatsu asked while sitting up.

"Son, you fell asleep... your mother already left" Matsuzo said to his son who was startled to hear that. "You should hurry if you don't want them to leave you"

"Ah! That's true... uhm, dad... where are Osomatsu and Karamatsu?" Todomatsu asked after noticing they weren't in the room.

"I don't know... when they left they said they were going to the bathroom, but, don'tworry, just go with your mom, I'm sure she's waiting at the entrance" said Matsuzo. Todomatsu nodded and headed to the door.

"Okay! I'll go then!" said Todomatsu while opening the door, he then looked at his father and approached him to give him a hug. "I'll see you tomorrow, dad" the youngest hugged his dad for some moments and then left the room in a hurry.

"Todomatsu, my son, I'm happy to see you here" said Matsuyo to the youngest one who was looking around for something.

"Mom... where are my brothers?" Todomatsu asked as he saw they where nowhere to be found. Matsuyo looked at him apologetically.

"Your brothers haven't come yet, I want to think is because they are thinking on staying with your father" said Matsuyo. Todomatsu arched a brow at that comment since he wasn't sure of that.

"Eh? But dad didn't tell me anything... it is true he said they were going to the bathroom but... I didn't think it meant they were staying with him..." Todomatsu said before pouting. "That's unfair! I wanted to stay too! Why didn't he say anything?"

"Surely because the others insisted while you were sleeping" said Matsuyo "Besides, I think your father wouldn't like me leaving alone..."

"I see... maybe they did that..." Todomatsu said while trying to remember when that could have been... though, since he was asleep it was impossible to know. "Oh! Mom, it's not that I don't want to be with you"

"I don't know but... if it wasn't like that then they would be here already" said Matsuyo with a smile. Todomatsu remained thinking on her words and though he had the sensation it wasn't like that... he thought it was a possibility.

"Okay then, let's go, mom!" said Todomatsu as he took her hand and walked alongside her towards their home. At first he had thought it was weird for his brothers to not be with him but he now thought that his mom's attention would be all his and that made him really happy. "Mom! Let's watch a movie!"

"Sure, I think that's a great idea" said Matsuyo "We can make popcorn as well if you want to"

"Sure! I'd love to! Oh, Mom, let's make pan cakes for dinner, can we?" Todomatsu said excitedly. Matsuyo giggled a bit after seeing her son so excited, she nodded really happy to her son's suggestion.

"You look happy to know your brothers aren't coming" said Matsuyo to her son who hugged her after hearing that.

"Of course! Now I have mom all to myself" he said. Matsuyo hugged him back while thinking on his adorable comment. "Mom! Mom! Now that dad won't be home either... can I sleep on your bed?"

"Of course" said Matsuyo to her son who on their way home was coming up with suggestions about their time together... without knowing that his brothers weren't really thinking on staying behind.

 **xXxXxXxXx**

Jyushimatsu opened his eyes hours after, he had fallen asleep when he was pondering about what happened before. He realized that the floor was freezing and that his body had gone numb, what was happening?

"Uh... but what...?" Jyushimatsu murmured as he woke up. "Where am I...?" Jyushimatsu looked in front of him and noticed the room was incredibly dark, why? "Am I still under the bed...? I can't see much..." as he tried to stand, he couldn't avoid hitting his head confirming his suspicions. "Ow..."

Jyushimatsu couldn't understand why he was still there, why was it so dark? He didn't get it... until a sudden thought appeared... could it be...?

"Oh no... Did I fall asleep...? No... no... that means that... Am I alone here...?"He remained paralyzed for a moment, he couldn't see much but that wasn't everything that was bothering him... he heard squeaks coming from outside the room, he heard subtle noises that at daytime would be impossible to discern. "I-I need to g-get out of here..." the young one was getting quite nervous as time passed. How would he reach the others? How would he get to his brother's room? He couldn't even find his way around the building... and first... in which part of the building was he? He wasn't paying attention before, he was only eager to find an empty space, he hadn't even minded how much he had walked.

"I can hear footsteps... they're coming from the hallway... aren't they? they are not coming this way, right...? I think I should wait for them to pass just in case... Jyushimatsu stared at nothing in particular as he waited, but, second after second, he realized it was unbearable to keep his eyes open, why? He wasn't sure, he saw the same whether these were closed or open... meaning, nothing. Jyushimatsu heard sounds, the sound of the footsteps vanished but different sounds that equally disturbed him replaced the others easily.

"No... Jyushimatsu, don't be afraid... you're only in a dark room, you don't have to be afraid, nothing is happening..." said Jyushimatsu to himself "It's not like a monster will come out or something... you just need to leave the room, you need to go back to where the others are..." after saying those words of support, a worrying thought entered his mind. "Wait a moment... mom was going to leave with Osomatsu and the others... then... does that mean that...? Does that mean I really am alone? They left without me?"

The raven haired lost his composure when realizing that his family had probably left him, what would he do now? He couldn't move as he felt watched, he felt that if he opened his eyes a strange creature would attack him, he could only remain in a fetal position and hear his mildly erratic breathing... How could it be, even though he knew he was in an empty room, that he was so scared? His mind knew it wasn't a big deal, that he could just get up and leave but he couldn't help feeling the fear overwhelm him, he couldn't move, he could only shiver in his place.

"Why... why did I fall asleep in this place... I'm scared... Osomatsu..." Jyushimatsu started to sob, not so loud since he thought something or someone would hear him but now he could only shiver and whimper trying to control himself. "Osomatsu... I don't want to stay here, please... I can't see anything... and I don't think I want to see..."

Jyushimatsu stayed in that state of paralysis for five minutes before daring to open his eyes and look around, yeah, he definitely couldn't see a thing but... Did he want to stay there? No... he had to make an effort if he wanted to leave, he couldn't wait until Osomatsu came out of nowhere, he repeated that over and over while small tears formed in his eyes; the raven haired had crawled from under the bed, he had hurt himself hitting something but he had struggled until finding the door.

"The door... I can see it... I hope it isn't locked... I don't want to stay here all night..." said Jyushimatsu in a low voice while contemplating said thought, it wasn't a good idea; he hadn't even tried turning the doorknob and he was already in panic. "No, no... Jyushimatsu, calm down... everything is fine, I'm sure the door is still open, don't be scared before trying..." Jyushimatsu approached the door as close as he could and reached out to the doorknob... however, before even touching it, he realized something or someone was trying to turn it from the other side. The young one noticed this, he felt all his fears materialize in front of him... nonetheless, Jyushimatsu stepped back and managed to hide under the bed once more in the exact moment the door had opened.

Jyushimatsu was now looking from under the bed, there was a shadow of shoes coming closer, the thing that had entered hadn't turned on the light so the only light source when opening the door was the one coming from the hallway, it wasn't enough to illuminate the room but it was enough to cause an incredible panic in the boy. In those moments he could only listen to his heartbeats, these were turning louder and louder, so loud that he asked his mind to please calm down since he swore that other entity would be able to hear.

Without expecting it, a considerable large mass fell in front of him causing him to yelp in surprise. As he heard the footsteps stopping, Jyushimatsu covered his mouth with the intention to hide his presence... whatever it was, he couldn't afford to be found... not when whatever had entered hadn't turned on the lights... because... what kind of doctor comes into a room like that? No, Jyushimatsu felt that it was something dangerous, he knew deep inside him that it had to be the reason his intuition was telling him to leave hours earlier... intuition that he sadly ignored.

 _"But... what's that thing that fell in front of the bed?"_ Jyushimatsu limited himself to just think, he couldn't continue talking to himself, he couldn't afford such luxury... he couldn't allow himself to be found. Moments after, the footsteps came back, thing that made him feel better as it meant that the other person had not noticed his presence.

Suddenly, the sound of a cellphone tore the silent and tense atmosphere; Jyushimatsu heard how someone clicked to answer... well, at least he knew it was human... that was natural, what else would it be? An spectre? Jyushimatsu couldn't help but feel good to know what it was,it didn't matter what was logical at that moment, his mind needed those kind of confirmations.

"Yes?" The stranger's voice said "Oh! Boss! An apology for speaking so informal..." the voice went silent for a few moments "I'm sorry, Boss, I can't hear anything, let me put the speaker..."

"What do you think you are doing? What if someone listens to this conversation? Do you want me to replace you?" said the voice coming from the cellphone.

"No, no, don't get mad, Boss, I only did that because I can't make out the words without the speaker on... don't worry, I'm in an empty room at the hospital, no one will know about this" said the man.

"That better be true, Toka, have you finished your mission?" asked the other voice.

"That's right, I have the doctor in the bag" said the man whose name seemed to be 'Toka' "It was easier than I expected"

Jyushimatsu looked at what was blocking his vision with horror, he deduced that it had to be the bag in which the doctor was in. Why had they done that...? Wait... was this a kidnapping? Jyushimatsu understood the seriousness of the situation and felt how tears welled up in his eyes once more, he felt he was going to have an attack because of the fear he felt, he could only cover his mouth and try to control his small involuntary movements at the time of sobbing... he had to cry in total silence, he couldn't let himself be heard... his life depended on it.

"It should've, you were carrying your shotgun after all" said the man from the phone. "I was afraid you were going to require help or ask for aid on your escape because of your incompetence"

"Well, it wasn't like that, as you can see... I completed my mission without any mishaps, I just need to escape" said Toka "I'm sure you haven't seen such efficiency before"

"What are you saying? Tougou is way more capable and efficient than you are" said the man from the phone. Jyushimatsu kept silent when hearing the other name, had they mentioned another one of their partners? Why did he have a bad feeling from hearing about the other man? Well, actually, he didn't know if it was a bad feeling or if he was just feeling more danger the more he heard... yeah, sadly, as long as the conversation went on, the riskier for Jyushimatsu to be found... "Tougou eliminated the objectives in a discreet yet quick manner, there's no one more capable than he is"

"What? He already has an accomplice?" asked Toka with curiosity.

"That man needs no such thing, although, if he had one I'm sure he would be incredibly exceptional" said the Boss "Anyway, I'll send someone to pick you up, make sure to not make a mistake or I'm afraid I'll dispose of you" after saying this, Toka hung up and kept his cellphone away.

"Man... the Boss is sure harsh on me... but I did a great job... I didn't even need to shoot the doctor, he should appreciate the things I do.. although it is true I have screwed up in different occasions and he has forgiven me... oh well..." Toka said to himself to then lift the bag from the floor... however, when he did this, he noticed someone was under the bed.

Jyushimatsu stared back in horror, had he been discovered? Yes... it seemed like it... the man had crouched down out of nowhere and because of his paralysis in the situation... he had been spotted by the criminal.

"...You better come out unless you want me to shoot you" said the man as he held his shotgun and aimed under the bed. "I'll count to ten... if you don't come out before I reach ten then I'll shoot you, did you hear?"

Jyushimatsu was terrified as he stared at the weapon while he heard the way the man counted, the young one wanted to move but he just couldn't, his body wouldn't stop shaking and his tears wouldn't stop forming.

"Seven..." the man was preparing himself to shoot "Eight..."

"No... don't kill me..." Jyushimatsu managed to say as he heard how he said the number nine. _"NOO!"_ Jyushimatsu thought to then feel how something inside him impulsed him to crawl out. Just when Toka had shot, Jyushimatsu had come out and had gone towards the door; without any time to lose, he left running as fast as he could. The raven haired couldn't think about anything, he only ran without knowing where he was going, he needed to get away from that man.

"Come back here, brat!" the man shouted as he chased him trying to catch him. "Come back here or I'll shoot!"

"Noo! Go away!" Jyushimatsu shouted as he kept running, thanks to the dim illumination from the hospital, he could see where he was going... but, he didn't count that the man would actually shoot him. "Ugh!" Jyushimatsu fell to the floor harshly and saw how his leg bled, the bullet had not pierced him but it had made a wound mildly deep-

"Hmm, Are you maybe that person that was spying on me a few hours ago?" he asked while crouching down to stare at the boy squirming in pain. "I didn't see who it was but I'm pretty sure it was you"

Jyushimatsu wasn't replying to anything as he was more occupied with holding his leg, sobbing and trying to resist... he needed to keep running. Toka looked pitifully at him since he knew the kid was attempting to run away again.

"Ah, nope, you can't do that... you've already made be too indiscrete... we'll need to see what to do with you in the room" said Toka as he lifted him up by his hair. Jyushimatsu felt the danger so he tried struggling against him, he tried kicking, hitting, whatever he could... however, Toka aimed the shotgun at his head making him stop.

"What do you say? You coming the easy way or the hard way? Or... would you rather have me dispose of you in this moment?" Jyushimatsu desisted and instead started sobbing loudly.

"No... don't kill me... please..." Jyushimatsu said while being pulled towards the room he had escaped from with all his might. Toka pulled the kid inside the room and once inside throwed him against the floor to aim the shotgun at him. "N-No... no... no..."

"Here's how things are, kid, tell me all you heard... that will decide if you live or if I kill you right here right now" he said with all the intention to shoot.

"I-I..." Jyushimatsu stuttered as he tried to reply, he was completely lost in his fear to be able to say something coherent.

"And without lying, if you dare to lie to me I will make sure your family also dies" said the man. Jyushimatsu went silent when hearing the threat, he was thinking on killing his parents and brothers...? But they weren't at fault...

"No, please..." Jyushimatsu repeated as he started to cough. The man didn't seem to lay down his shotgun, he looked ready to shoot if Jyushimatsu didn't answer. "I... I... heard... the phone call..."

"Hmm... so you heard all that huh... then you know what's in the bag then" said Toka as he stepped on the bag. Jyushimatsu stared terrified as he clearly knew what it was.

"I... I don't plan on telling, I swear..." said Jyushimatsu "Just don't kill me..." Toka walked towards a small cabinet in which several types of medicines were and started to rummage for something. Jyushimatsu looked at him confused but he also eyed the door considering running again.

"I'm warning you, if you try something stupid again... a scratch won't be the only thing you'll get" Toka said referring to the cut on his leg. Jyushimatsu, after hearing this, decided to give up and wait for him to have mercy and not kill him. "Hmmm... I would like not to kill you but... sooner or later you will talk so..."

"No! Anything else but don't kill me!" Jyushimatsu shouted as he hid his head with his arms. Toka smiled at this, he took something from the cabinet and turned to see him.

"Anything huh..." Toka said while showing him a syringe. Jyushimatsu looked at the syringe without understanding his intentions. What was he going to do with that?

 **xXxXxXxXx**

Osomatsu and Karamatsu had stayed in Ichimatsu's room until it started to get dark outside, they had left several times during the day since they exchanged places with their parents or to give the nurses space to check their brother and stuff like that. As time passed, the brothers forgot about Jyushimatsu who wasn't back yet, this until the hour came in which they had to head home.

"Osomatsu, Todomatsu, your mother just told me that she is at the entrance waiting for you to go home" said Matsuzo to his two sons that stood up, however, Karamatsu squinted at him, he wasn't surprised but it was a bit irritating.

"Dad, I already told you that I'm Karamatsu, Todomatsu is the one sleeping on the sofa's corner" Karamatsu said to his father while walking to the door.

"Oh, I'm sorry, Karamatsu... but well, hurry, don't leave your mother waiting" said Matsuzo to the boys who were about to leave.

"We know... though, we'll go to to the bathroom before going to where mom is in case she asks" said Karamatsu "We'll see you tomorrow, dad" after saying this, both boys left the room. Matsuzo smiled but before being able to do something else, he noticed how one of his children came back.

"By the way... what about Todomatsu?" asked Osomatsu to his father "Is he staying here as well?"

"I don't think so, I'm thinking on waking him up just after I talk to the doctor, you boys should go meet your mother" said Matsuzo "Your brother won't take long"

"Ah, okay, we'll see him there then" said Osomatsu not remembering his brother was kind of a scaredycat to go by himself... although the hospital wasn't dark at all so maybe there wasn't a problem by letting him go alone.

"Osomatsu! Hurry! I need to go!" said Karamatsu who was some distance away. Osomatsu chuckled at his brother's behavior, he sounded like Todomatsu.

"Haha, are you scared of going alone too? I didn't think you were like that, Karamatsu"said Osomatsu as he jogged his way towards his brother.

"It's not that! Ugh, wait, I'll run or I won't get there on time...!" Karamatsu said as he ran off to the bathroom without caring if his brother was following him or not. Osomatsu watched him leave and laughed at seeing his desperate need to go.

Osomatsu walked towards the bathroom and sat on a bench that was in the hallway. The eldest looked around and contemplated with curiosity the way the hospital was still active at those hours... the people unrelated to the hospital were gone, only nurses and doctors were found walking from one place to another in a hurry.

"Wow... it must be hard to be in this place... where it looks like they never rest..." said Osomatsu. "I hope Todomatsu can go to the entrance by himself, otherwise dad will have to go with him" Osomatsu remained in complete silence for some moments until he remembered what had happened hours earlier with Jyushimatsu.

 _"Hey! Jyushimatsu! Where do you think you are going?" Osomatsu asked to his younger brother who kept walking away from them._

 _"Away from you" said Jyushimatsu really mad, he then turned to stare at both brothers who could not get why their younger brother was so angry. "Don't even bother following me, Osomatsu" Jyushimatsu then turned away from them and left_.

"Jyushimatsu... I still can't believe he got so mad, he even left and hasn't come back..." Osomatsu murmured to then realize something "Wait a moment... it's true, he didn't come back"

Karamatsu came out of the bathroom feeling refreshed, he was happy until he saw how Osomatsu looked worried about something. What was wrong?

"Osomatsu, what's wrong? You look pale" said Karamatsu to his brother who didn't seem to notice he was being spoken to.

"Jyushimatsu..." Osomatsu muttered to then snap out of his trance and see Karamatsu. "Karamatsu... hey... we forgot something really important"

"Hm? What thing?" Karamatsu looked at him with curiosity... why did his brother look like he had made mistake and was now beating himself over it?

"I think it's because we stayed waiting and so we assumed that at some moment he would be back but... it's really late, we're already leaving and he never came back..." Osomatsu looked at Karamatsu worriedly "Jyushimatsu never came back to the room, we forgot to look for him"

"What?! Oh no... Jyushimatsu... it's true, how could we forget he wasn't with us?" said Karamatsu who now understood the eldest's concern "Do you think he left the hospital?"

"I don't think so... why would he go back home? and I say that because that's what I can think it's possible..." said Osomatsu "But no, I'm sure that Jyushimatsu is still in the hospital"

"You think so?"

"Yes, even though I'm trying to think on what Jyushimatsu could have done... the most that comes to mind is that he wandered around looking for a place where to hide"

"Hide? Why would he want to hide?" Karamatsu asked "I know he got angry but... hide somewhere in the hospital? I'm not saying it's impossible... it's just that it's already night, Osomatsu, that would mean Jyushimatsu is still hiding which I think it's really unlikely..."

"I understand, and part of me thinks it's silly to believe in that but... What would make him stay hidden? We know it's impossible that he is still hiding because of his anger, so... what other reason woud he have to hide?" Osomatsu asked Karamatsu who stayed thinking about this momentarily.

"I think I know why... but... isn't it more likely that he isn't in the building? He may be waiting with mom" said Karamatsu with a smile, yeah, that was the ideal conclusion.

"No... and we don't need to go there to check he is with mom..." said Osomatsu. Karamatsu didn't understand why it was useless going, wasn't it better to check?

"What? Why do you say that? It is a possibility that he is waiting with mom" said Karamatsu. Osomatsu shook his head in denial.

"I think you are forgetting an important detail about Jyushi..." said Osomatsu "He has really awful orientation sense in this place, don't you remember that dad made me go get him? I doubt that he could find the exit"

"Oh... I see, then it's possible that he tried looking for an exit but since he failed he went to look for a place to hide?" said Karamatsu to Osomatsu who nodded in agreement.

"And I'm thinking he is still hiding... not because he wants to but... because he surely fell asleep" said Osomatsu "That or he is looking for us"

"In any case... I think it's better to start looking for him" said Karamatsu who had turned to see somewhere else really alarmed. "Osomatsu?"

"Oh, it's nothing, I just thought I saw a suspicious person..." Karamatsu smiled after hearing that, was his brother getting nervous?

"Haha, who sounds like Todomatsu now?" Karamatsu teased before remembering something. Although... mom must be waiting for us, should we tell her to wait some more?"

"No" said Osomatsu as he started to walk away with his new objective to find his brother. "If we tell her that we don't know where Jyushimatsu is then she'll just worry... I think it's best to look for him and if they are gone when we find him then we can stay with dad... we can explain him the situation after finding Jyushimatsu"

"Oh, that's true and well, I don't think dad will get angry.." Karamatsu considered "But, mom would be leaving by herself..."

"That isn't true, Todomatsu will surely leave with her, I don't think he'll dare look for him... he'll barely be able to get to the entrance! Haha, yeah, anyway... we can count on him to leave with mom" said Osomatsu.

"Then it's fine, I just hope we can find Jyushimatsu soon, I don't want to imagine how he must feel..." said Karamatsu sounding concerned about his younger brother.

"Don't worry, it's not like the hospital is empty or something, there's a lot of activity going on at these hours" said Osomatsu before smiling "Besides, Jyushimatsu should be fine, maybe a little lost but fine, haha" after saying this, the brothers focused on finding their other brother... who had effectively fallen asleep in his 'hideout'.

 **xXxXxXxXx**

¡No...! ¡Please! ¡Don't do this! ¡No!" Jyushimatsu screamed as he tried to avoid the syringe. At the moment the young one was tied against the bed and the criminal was trying to inject him a suspicious substance.

"You are so noisy! You need to get that I need to do this if I want to escape!" said Toka to the boy tied to the bed who wouldn't stop crying and begging for his life.

"No! Don't do it! I promise not to say anything but don't inject me! No! No!" Jyushimatsu cried while the man held his wrists with force. "Osomatsu...! Karamatsu...! Someone! Please!"

"Shut up!" the man shouted to the boy who seemed not to listen to what he was saying.

"I promise not to hide again, I promise not to leave again! I'm sorry! I shouldn't have done that! I'm sorry!" the young one sobbed while his tears fell inconsolably, he felt really bad for getting angry, he was regretting saying those things to Osomatsu and above all for looking for a place where to hide... if only he hadn't done something so childish and stupid...

"I said Shut up!" Toka punched him in response. Jyushimatsu remained unmoving after receiving it but he was still shaking and crying.

"N-No... Osomatsu... Osomatsu...!" Jyushimatsu cried to then feel how the needle pierced his skin. The raven haired looked at this and as he saw how the foreign substance entered his body, he couldn't help but feel panic and fear, he didn't know what it was... he didn't know what it would do to him.

Jyushimatsu remained paralyzed after being injected, he didn't know what to think or do... he could only look at his wrist feeling the inminent danger, What could that substance have been? What would it cause? He didn't know and he only thought on how foolish he had been... if he hadn't fallen asleep nothing would have happened... but now he had to deal with a suspicious man that was kidnapping a doctor and that out of fear of him saying something had injected him that weird liquid.

"I can only tell you it won't kill you... maybe" said Toka to then untie the child since it would be too suspicious for him to be found in that state, it could complicate things. He didn't think it was an issue since the child would not be able to react well because of the drug, in fact, he would probably be suffering because of what he had injected him and luckily he would forget what happened.

Not much time passed before the criminal's cellphone rung, the man picked it up and was then notified that a van was outside of the hospital, meaning he only needed to leave the building. Toka hung up and remained staring at the kid paralyzed on the bed.

"I'm sure that what I injected you should make you forget what happened and the fact that you saw me... but even if you do remember this... you better stay quiet, unless you want me to hunt you down" said Toka as he approached the window while carrying the bag. The criminal opened the window and jumped; he had prepared his escape route beforehand so he was sure not to die as long as he jumped from that exact window.

"Osomatsu..." Jyushimatsu murmured before feeling how his head started to throb and how the room started to spin. "It hurts..." the boy laid down on the bed as he felt an intense sensation of vertigo, he tried to calm down as much as he could but he couldn't help but feel gravity force him to stay in that position. "I can't see anything... everything is spining... someone... please, help me" the boy murmured with difficulty as he kept sobbing.

Approximately twenty minuted passed by after Jyushimatsu had been injected and before Karamatsu and Osomatsu found him. Karamatsu had noticed the open door and hadn't hesitated on going there to check if his brother was inside.

"Jyushimatsu!" Shouted Karamatsu after turning on the light and seeing his brother sitting on the bed. "We were looking for you, were you here all this time?" Jyushimatsu was facing the window without really minding his brother... thing that worried both brothers.

"Hey, Jyushimatsu... I'm sorry for having mocked you before, it wasn't right" said Osomatsu "If you want to tell us about that weird man you can do so"

"Eh? Osomatsu... what are you talking about?" Jyushimatsu asked as he turned to see them with a grin covering his face "I haven't seen a strange man"

"What? But you were talking about him a few hours earlier... you were also hiding from him, remember?" Osomatsu arched a brow while saying this.

"Nope, no clue of what you are talking about, Osomatsu, I haven't seen anyone suspicious" said Jyushimatsu while laughing.

"But you came hiding here because of that... we argued because of that!" Osomatsu frowned after seeing his brother with that stupid grin still on his face. "You can't just tell me there was no one like that! You said it was a man dressed as a nurse!"

"Huh? there are male nurses, you know?" Jyushimatsu replied before standing up. "But it doesn't matter, the important thing is that you two are here"

"He just used my joke against me... Karamatsu, should I hit him?" Osomatsu said really angry and confused. Karamatsu didn't know what to say so he chuckled nervously instead.

"No, no... it's fine, Jyushimatsu is weird some times" said Karamatsu before noticing the open window and the mess all around. "Jyushimatsu... hey, did something happen?"

"Hmm? Yeah, it seems I fell asleep, I didn't know how I would go back" said Jyushimatsu without being able to stop grinning. "I'm happy you guys came to look for me"

"No, but... the room is a mess... were you playing or something?" Karamatsu asked a bit concerned. Jyushimatsu kept smiling but this time he had shook his head in denial.

"Nope! I definitely don't know what you are talking about, Karamatsu" said Jyushimatsu.

"Jyushimatsu, seriously, why are you smiling that way? You are creeping me out" said Osomatsu as he found his brother's grin way too disturbing.

"I don't know... I simply feel really happy to see you two, oh! oh! Let's go with mom, she's waiting for us, isn't she?" Jyushimatsu asked.

"Jyushimatsu... are you sure you weren't playing here? It looks like you were... the bed is a mess too..." said Karamatsu to his brother who only looked back with that same grin on his face.

"I don't see what the problem is, nothing happened" said Jyushimatsu who couldn't stop feeling strangely happy. Karamatsu couldn't believe nothing had happened.

"Jyushimatsu, do you mean to say the room was this way when you entered? Didn't you find it strange for it to be like this?" Karamatsu needed to know what had happened but Jyushimatsu wasn't helping.

"Eh? But the room wasn't like this when I first came" said Jyushimatsu letting his smile fall for a moment to look around, however, it didn't last long and he went back to smiling. "But well, that doesn't matter, mom is waiting for us"

"Mom already left with Todomatsu" said Osomatsu still irritated "We've been looking for you, why didn't you go looking for us? You worried us, idiot"

"Oh... I see, well, I'm actually really happy that you two are here" said Jyushimatsu "I truly appreciate that you two found me"

"I don't know if I can believe that... you haven't stopped smiling since you saw us, everything you say is with that grin on your face..." said Osomatsu suspicious of Jyushimatsu's words.

"But it is true... or is it wrong for me to be happy?" Jyushimatsu asked while chuckling for a bit. Osomatsu and Karamatsu didn't know what to think, they only knew he was acting really weird. "Come on, we need to go to Ichimatsu' room then, hehe" Jyushimatsu tried walking but he once more felt that sensation of vertigo and so ended up on the floor.

"Jyushimatsu!" Both brothers exclaimed after seeing his brother on the floor, as they tried to see what he had, they noticed his leg bleeding a lot. Karamatsu, while looking around, noticed there was a bundle of sheets under the bed and that these were covered in blood.

"Jyushimatsu... you are bleeding a lot, tell us what happened" said Karamatsu to Jyushimatsu who looked at his wound but didn't seem to react, he looked confused but his smile didn't seem to falter.

"Haha, maybe, but it doesn't hurt" said Jyushimatsu while laughing for a bit, Osomatsu frowned after hearing such answer.

"And what does it matter if you don't feel any pain? You are bleeding!" said Osomatsu "Just tell us what happened already!"

"I don't know, I just know I feel extremely happy, I'm too overjoyed" said Jyushimatsu who sincerely couldn't think on anything else at that moment but on his strange sensation of happiness.

"But how can you be so happy when you are bleeding like this? Besides, it isn't possible that you don't know, there's that bundle of sheets covered in blood under the bed" said Karamatsu as he pointed towards them "Are you hiding what happened from us?"

"Uh... but I didn't put those there, in fact, I don't know why those sheets are there" said the youngest as he laughed. "Can't we just forget it and go to Ichimatsu's room?"

"No! We can't!" both said at the same time, they were both clearly annoyed at their brother. Karamatsu stood up and walked to the door.

"Osomatsu, I'll go look for a doctor, take care of Jyushimatsu in the meantime" said Karamatsu. Osomatsu nodded and stayed beside his brother.

"But... it doesn't hurt, I'm fine" said Jyushimatsu as he looked at his injury. "I know I'm bleeding but if it doesn't hurt then that means I'm fine, right?"

"No! It doesn't mean you are fine!" said Osomatsu angrily, however, he stared worriedly at him. "Jyushimatsu, I know I laughed at you before, I know you probably don't want to tell me anything else but... I'm apologizing, you don't have to act like this... I'm sorry for having done that, trust your older brother, okay?"

"Heheh... but Osomatsu, what are you saying? I'm not bothered by that anymore, I'm just happy that you came looking for me" said Jyushimatsu. Osomatsu stared back incredulously.

"Hey... wait a second... if you remember that we fought... how come you don't remember that man? Jyushimatsu, stop acting like you don't know anything about it!" said Osomatsu to his brother who was now feeling very tired, his smile had fallen at last.

"Osomatsu, nothing happened... really..." Jyushimatsu murmured while hiding his face on his brother's chest. "I just... feel happy that you are here"

"Jyushimatsu..." Osomatsu murmured as he then felt how his younger brother's body trembled and heard soft sobbing, his brother was trying to control himself.

"Thanks for looking for me... thank you..." Jyushimatsu murmured those words again as he kept crying in silence against his chest, it seemed like the drug's effect had passed so he was now feeling really tired, sad and scared. What could that have been? Jyushimatsu didn't understand why out of nowhere he had stopped feeling everything but happy, he couldn't stop smiling and his pain sensation had been null... normally he would have thought it was a good thing, but... he couldn't stop feeling really scared when remembering that the criminal had injected him that against his will... What could it have been? What kind of substance could induce that terrifying state of euforia...?


	5. Misunderstandings pt 1

**Chapter 5. Misunderstandings pt 1**

 _"No... why...?" Jyushimatsu murmured as he watched the movements of the man in front of him. The man approached with a syringe in hand and smiled in a wicked way._

 _"I'll have to deal with you in a different way, if you don't want me to shoot you it'll be best for you not to struggle" said the man. Jyushimatsu watched him nervously as he used the syringe to extract a substance from a bottle."This substance is really useful, it's nice they had some in the hospital"_

 _"What...? Useful...?" Jyushimatsu didn't understand what the criminal meant but the way in which he was approaching with that syringe was really unnerving. "No... No!" Jyushimatsu rose quickly and tried running towards the door with the intention of fleeing... however, the man caught his attention by aiming at him with the shotgun._

 _"What did I say?" the man said with that same wicked smile from before. Jyushimatsu stared slowly at the man and had no option but to go back._

 _"But... but... no... I don't..."Jyushimatsu trembled as he saw the man coming closer to him._

 _"You said anything was better than shooting you, didn't you?" said the man to then pull the kid to the bed. He tried to inject him once he was on it but after seeing him trembling too much he deduced it would be close to impossible, the kid was too nervous and no matter what he did... he couldn't yell at him to shut him up._

 _"I...I... I don't want to..." Jyushimatsu murmured while sobbing and trembling out of fear. Toka took one of the ropes he brought with him and used it to tie the boy to the bed, he had done it in such way that it was easy to inject him. "No! Don't do it!"_

"I promise not to say anything but don't inject me!" Jyushimatsu shouted as he sat up roughly. He stayed breathing heavily as he tried to compose himself, he was too agitated since that nightmare was the same thing that had happened at the hospital. Once he managed to calm down, he looked around and noticed that he was back in his room, it was night and his brothers were sleeping... as he could see, Choromatsu was with them too... which meant... he had slept for an entire day.

Jyushimatsu was surprised once he realized this, he knew that he had to go back to sleep, but, as he thought on the possibility of dreaming that again... he was incredibly discouraged of doing so. On the other hand, without noticing, Choromatsu had woken up because of his screaming.

"Jyushimatsu...? Is something the matter?" Choromatsu asked from his futon in a way the others didn't wake up. Jyushimatsu jumped a little after hearing his voice but didn't take long to calm himself.

"Ah... I had a nightmare..." Jyushimatsu said somehow ashamed for having disturbed his brother's sleep. "I'm sorry for waking you, Choromatsu"

"It's nothing, I was worried" Choromatsu said "So I'm not mad that you did"

"Really? I was that loud?" Jyushimatsu asked a little surprised.

"No... it's just... you didn't wake up for a whole day... we were all worried, even Ichimatsu was" said Choromatsu. Jyushimatsu was shocked to hear that.

"He knew...?"

"The thing is... you were asleep in his room, of course he was going to know" said Choromatsu "He was asking about your leg but no one could tell him anything since no one knew what happened..."

"Choromatsu... what about you?" Jyushimatsu asked "You were also sleeping a lot"

"Yes, but not as much as you.. I feel better, I'm still tired but I don't think I'll sleep so much again" said Choromatsu "So, Jyushimatsu, what happened?"

"I..." Jyushimatsu murmured as he remembered what happened, however, his mind divagated until recalling the exact words said by the criminal. Choromatsu stood up and walked towards his brother, he wanted to know what had happened to him, Jyushimatsu stared at him perplexed but decided not to tell him... he didn't want to lie to him but he had no other choice. "I fell asleep in a hospital room and it got dark... when I woke up I tried looking for the door but I ended up getting hurt by some objects in the room"

"Jyushimatsu..." Choromatsu looked at him really worried as he listened to the lie, he only knew he was hiding something since his smile was visibly forced. He knew his brother was lying but... why? and even so... should he press him to tell the truth? "I see... it should have been really painful then... but, what were you doing in that room? Why did you fall asleep there?"

"I...uhm, I fought with Osomatsu and I ended up in that room..." Said Jyushimatsu while blushing "I know it was silly, I wasn't thinking on staying there for long but I fell asleep by accident..."

"I understand..." Choromatsu smiled as he believed that part of the story was true, it was clear that it was true but... why didn't he want to explain about the rest? Well, it's not like he was going to know with that attitude of his... maybe he could try again later... "Well, I think it's best that we go to sleep, we don't want to be tired when going to visit Ichimatsu, right?"

"Yeah..." Jyushimatsu murmured while watching him retreat to his futon, though... as he saw him leaving his side, he remembered his nervousness, he considered the fact of sleeping but he was simply scared, he didn't want to deal with that nightmare again. "Uhm, Choromatsu..." Choromatsu looked at him with curiosity as he saw his brother was trying to tell him something, it seemed to be something difficult to say but he was still trying. What could it be?

"What is it?"

"Uhmm... if it's okay with you... would you sleep with me?" Jyushimatsu asked timidly, he felt dumb for asking him to do something like that, but, fortunately, his older brother didn't seem annoyed at all. Choromatsu smiled and nodded, he knew his brother was probably afraid of that nightmare he have had, so he wasn't bothered about his request.

"Yeah, I don't see why not" said Choromatsu happily "Let me drag my futon over here" he said since they wouldn't fit inside Jyushimatsu's alone. He dragged it and placed it as close as he could to his younger brother.

"Ah, thank you" said Jyushimatsu really content that his brother had accepted without questioning him so much. Both laid down one beside the other, Jyushimatsu, now with his brother's company, had decided to sleep meanwhile Choromatsu wondered about the reason his brother had such injury on his leg... it was impossible to get it because of the room's objects... that was the way he knew Jyushimatsu was lying to him.

"No problem, good night" said Choromatsu while closing his eyes, he expected to learn of the real reason of that wound sooner or later, he didn't like not knowing what had truly happened to his brother.

 **xXxXxXxXx**

The next morning, Karamatsu, Todomatsu and Osomatsu woke up for school; they didn't want to go but their mother had told them it was necessary they went since they had skipped it for several days.

"Ah... what a drag..." said Osomatsu while he yawned. He was at the moment rubbing his eyes trying to get rid of his sleepyness. "Guys... are you up yet?" As he saw his brothers had gone back to sleep, Osomatsu had no choice but to force them to wake up... however, as he walked towards them, he noticed the joined futons... Choromatsu and Jyushimatsu had slept together? That was weird... "Guys... stop pretending to be asleep, mom will come again and if we wake up the other two then she'll scold us"

"Hnn...?" Karamatsu murmured as he listened to Osomatsu "Okay, okay... I'm getting up..." the second eldest said as he thought they were going to have to wake up anyway.

"Todomatsu..." Osomatsu looked at his brother with irritation, he was covering his head with the pillow. "Get up" Todomatsu seemed to be pressing the pillow even more as he heard his older brother insisting.

"Ah?" Karamatsu looked at Todomatsu and observed how he didn't want to wake up. Before saying anything, he saw how Osomatsu was about to kick him to force him up. "Wait, Osomatsu, I'll wake him up" Osomatsu heard this and so allowed his brother to the job for him.

"Todomatsu... mom is coming soon, it's better you stopped faking already" said Karamatsu to his brother who looked like he didn't really care. "And Osomatsu plans on kicking you until you move"

"Ah... okay, okay..." said Todomatsu as he knelt down and yawned. "Osomatsu, do you always have to be so aggressive?"

"Only when you don't listen to me, I normally don'tcare that you do these things... but Choromatsu and Jyushimatsu are sleeping" said Osomatsu. Todomatsu, without understanding why that was important, looked at him with apathy. "Huh? Did you forget? Jyushimatsu and Choromatsu need to sleep"

"I understand that Choromatsu needs to... but why does Jyushimatsu needs to rest as well?" Todomatsu asked without having any idea of what had happened. Karamatsu and Osomatsu looked at him incredulously.

"Didn't you know...? But yesterday..." Osomatsu tried explaining but Todomatsu interrupted him.

"You arrived at night with dad carrying Jyushimatsu in his arms but it didn't look to be anything serious" said Todomatsu "Even though I did find weird that you guys didn't explain anything to me"

"Ah... it's true, we didn't explain anything..." said Osomatsu as he remembered that Todomatsu wasn't in the hospital the previous day. "But hey, now that you mention it... why didn't go to the hospital?"

"I accompanied mom to do some errands, she was a bit busy all day so I offered to help her" said Todomatsu happily. Osomatsu and Karamatsu didn't seem to understand.

"You offered to help her...?" both brothers asked their younger brother who rarely did stuff like that... or more like never.

"I see... you tagged along so she bought you something" said Osomatsu with certainty "I can't say I'm surprised"

"Heh, well, at least I received something" said Todomatsu really satisfied with how his mom had showered him with attention. "It was a lot of fun"

"Oh, yeah?! Well, I...!" Osomatsu tried saying something but Karamatsu interrupted him after seeing the conversation would go on endlessly.

"Osomatsu, we have to go" said Karamatsu "We can keep talking at school, mom will get angry"

"Okay, okay, I get it" said Osomatsu while agreeing with his younger brother. Todomatsu stood up hesitantly and so noticed the rare of his two brothers sleeping together.

"Hey... why are they sleeping together?" Todomatsu asked with curiosity. Karamatsu followed his stared and as equally surprised to see them like that.

"We don't know" both brothers said while staring intently at Choromatsu and Jyushimatsu. Todomatsu looked at them skeptically.

"Did something bad happened yesterday?" Todomatsu asked. Osomatsu stayed thinking on the reason for them to be that way... Could it be that Jyushimatsu had been crying? It wasn't common to see Choromatsu sleeping with him after all. "Did something happen?" The sixth brother repeated.

"It wasn't really yesterday..." said Karamatsu as Osomatsu kept staring at his asleep brothers. Todomatsu shifted his attention from his asleep brothers to Karamatsu as he expected him to explain. "We are not really sure of what happened... nobody but Jyushimatsu knows..."

"What? How is that possible? Are you hiding something from me?" Todomatsu asked somehow angry since he thought his brothers were lying to him.

"No... we are not hiding anything, it's just difficult..." Karamatsu said since it was true they didn't know what had happened to their brother.

"Kids, breakfast is ready!" Matsuyo called them from downstairs. Karamatsu and Todomatsu looked in the entrance's direction a bit alarmed.

"Well, we'll tell you what we know at school, we should just hurry for now" said Karamatsu to Todomatsu who agreed on listening to what they had to say later. "Osomatsu, come on, mom is waiting"

"Huh? Ah! Right, right, let's go" said Osomatsu after looking at his brothers again. Could it be that Choromatsu had heard him crying? Jyushimatsu asked him to sleep with him? Osomatsu was still in the dark about his brother's experience before they had found him, meaning he was upset about not knowing... he didn't really any other choice but to ask him after school.

 **xXxXxXxXx**

A few more hours passed before Jyushimatsu woke up, he opened his eyes slowly and stared into his brother's chest slightly confused… however, he remembered vaguely that he had asked him to sleep with him so he calmed down and instead smiled at the thought of his brother still by his side.

"Uh… Jyushimatsu, are you awake?" Choromatsu asked when feeling his brother moving in his arms, yes, he had hugged him at some point during the night and he had remained that way. "I think my arms went numb…"

"Yes, I'm awake now, Choromatsu" said Jyushimatsu as he saw how his brother removed his arms from around him. "Thanks for making me company, it really helped" Choromatsu sat up and stared at him with his arms stretched out as these were still numb.

"I'm glad since mom just called us for breakfast" said Choromatsu while feeling his limbs tingle painfully from the numbness. Jyushimatsu looked around and noticed the empty futons of his brothers.

"Choromatsu… and the others?" Jyushimatsu asked finding it really strange, had they gone out to play? Had they left to the hospital without them?

"As mom explained me… Osomatsu, Karamatsu and Todomatsu went to school" said Choromatsu "Meaning we are the first ones to go to the hospital"

"Ah…" Jyushimatsu murmured as he felt a small shiver when hearing the word 'hospital' "I see…" Choromatsu stood up and walked in direction of the kitchen. "Wait! Choromatsu, don't go alone, I'll help you down!"

"What? Ah, that… haha, don't worry, Jyushimatsu, I'm good enough to go downstairs by myself" said Choromatsu. Jyushimatsu didn't seem to believe him, what if he fell for taking his word?

"But, Choromatsu, you stayed home because you are weak right now, isn't that right?" said Jyushimatsu to his brother who smiled afterwards. Choromatsu shook his head in denial.

"To be honest, I'm even ready to go to school, but I can't do a lot of physical activity" said Choromatsu "I think they didn't send me with them since they're still worried that something will happen to me at school"

"It's been just a few days since the blood donation, of course you're not okay to go to school" said Jyushimatsu "I remember Osomatsu saying something about the sunlight being bad for you…"

"I don't think it's that serious, I'll probably tell mom to send me to school tomorrow" said Choromatsu "Though I have to admit that it's really nice not having to go…"

"Choromatsu, not because you don't feel as sleepy as the previous days means you are fine…" said Jyushimatsu as he then noticed him leaving the room. "Choromatsu! Hey!"

"Come before it gets cold!" Choromatsu shouted after leaving the room. Jyushimatsu sighed with concern, he thought on chasing after him until he heard his voice again. "I'm at the table!" the fifth brother seemed relieved to hear that.

"He just doesn't listen… he's just like Osomatsu" said Jyushimatsu as he remembered how his older brother had mocked him without giving him a chance to explain. As he placed his hands on his sides to stand up, Jyushimatsu could feel a sting that travelled all around his body… What could that have been? The young one remained sitting and instead examined one of his wrists, from the one he had felt the pain, and noticed something unpleasant… he had a red marking. "What…? What is this…?" Jyushimatsu watched the marking with horror and right after that could see memories about that moment… he had refused to explain anything to his brothers before falling asleep… and now he had a marking?

"Jyushimatsu! Mom says you should hurry otherwise your food will go cold!" Choromatsu shouted from his place on the table, thing that alarmed Jyushimatsu. He had to think of something right away, he couldn't go downstairs showing that horrible marking on his skin.

"Coming!" Jyushimatsu replied back. The fifth brother stood up quicky and rummaged through his things to try and find something to wear that could hide the mark, he needed something! Anything! After considering his options, he took a yellow sweatshirt and wore it. "Okay, this will do" Jyushimatsu noticed that the sweatshirt he had picked up was one his parents had bought for him, it was a size bigger than necessary so he didn't wear it much, of course, in that situation as actually the most ideal choice since the sleeves were hanging and so hid their hands pretty well.

Choromatsu was now eating though he turned to see towards the stairs time to time, how much longer would his brother take? As he thought on that, Jyushimatsu came downstairs and walked to where Choromatsu was to take the seat aside of him.

"You sure took your time, what were you doing?" Choromatsu asked his brother who had started to eat without pulling up his sleeves. "Jyushimatsu, are you really going to eat like that? Your sleeves will end dirty"

"Ah… true, true…" said Jyushimatsu somehow nervous for the sudden attention on his clothes. Jyushimatu pulled up his sleeves slightly, as to keep his wrists hidden but enough as to show part of his hands. Choromatsu didn't even understand the reason for the sweatshirt.

"Jyushimatu… are you cold?" Choromatsu asked. Jyushimatsu looked at him and nodded without really wanting to explain. "I see… I understand" said Choromatsu believing him. Jyushimatsu sighed in relief that his brother had now dropped the subject, he didn't want him seeing the mark since that would equal to having to tell him.

"How are you two? I brought you chocolate milk, you need a lot of energy after all" said Matsuyo who wanted to pamper her sons. She served them some in the glasses she had brought with her and watched them drink it happily.

"Good, thanks, mom" said Choromatsu to his mother, Jyushimatsu also smiled but he was more mortified wondering if anyone had seen his marking the previous day.

"I'm glad, Choromatsu, how about you, Jyushimatsu?" Matsuyo couldn't get it wrong since Karamatsu, Osomatsu and Todomatu had left for school… not mentioning Choromatsu had mentioned how Jyushimatsu was taking his time coming downstairs.

"Ah, me? Ehm, I'm fine, thanks" said Jyushimatsu a little awkwardly for the attention, he didn't know why but being stared at made him nervous somehow… like if by doing that they would figure out what he had.

"That's a relief, your father came carrying you in his arms yesterday… I was really worried… he said you'd been asleep all day" said Matsuyo "Did something happen?"

"Huh? Uhm, the truth is that I don't remember, haha" said Jyushimatsu as he faked a smile. "But I'm sure it wasn't anything important, I probably hit my head or something…" Choromatsu stopped eating as he listened to his brother's lies, why was he lying? Wasn't he ever going to tell the truth? And it looked like he was coming up with different excuses each time…

"I see… I hope you feel better soon" said his mother without knowing that what had happened had been truly horrible. Choromatsu didn't know what to think about his brother, he didn't like to see him lying but he was also curious on the reason of why he kept making up what he had gone through.

"Yes, I'm better… ehm, and dad?" Jyushimatsu asked in an attempt to change the subject.

"Your father went back to the hospital to stay with Ichimatsu, he said that this time he would allow two of you all to stay in his place. Would you like to stay today?" Matsuyo asked.

"No!" Jyushimatsu exclaimed as he remembered the terror from that night, stay at the hospital? No, that would never happen, he didn't want to stay at that place again. Matsuyo and Choromatsu stared at him concerned for his way to refuse; Jyushimatsu looked at them and realized he had acted weird, therefore, he tried fixing his mistake. "Haha, did you think I'd say that mom? Of course I'll stay, I want to be with Ichimatsu" Jyushimatsu smiled as much as he could, he tried to smile for his brother and was trying not to think on the fear that thinking about the hospital caused him.

"Oh, I understand" said his mother as she believed her son was kidding, however, Choromatsu hadn't bought it… if his brother had said that before he was acting weird then he would have believed him, but, with everything that was happening… it was only one more thing into the pile of suspicious behavior he was accumulating. "Okay, I'll go get ready to go to the hospital, please take your dishes to the kitchen when you are done having breakfast"

"Okay" both boys said as they looked at their mother leave the room. Jyushimatsu kept eating in silence while his brother just stared at him puzzled.

"Choromatsu, is something the matter?" Jyushimatsu asked him with the same fake smile from before. Choromatsu didn't know what to think about that smile, he wanted to ask him what he had but as he considered that it was close to impossible that his brother said anything, he simply shook his head.

"Nothing, it's nothing" said Choromatsu as he redirected his stare towards his food. But what was going on with Jyushimatsu?

 **xXxXxXxXx**

Matsuyo and her two kids left home towards the hospital, Matsuyo had asked Osomatsu to head to the hospital after school since there would be no one at home. Choromatsu was having a conversation with his mother while Jyushimatsu walked without really minding what was in front of him, he was thinking on how he wanted to avoid that place but at the same time he knew he couldn't refuse without rising suspicion… that and… he didn't want to disappoint Ichimatsu, he wasn't at fault for what had happened to him. He was eyeing Choromatsu without him noticing, he couldn't stop thinking that his brother wasn't believing his lies, and why would he? Jyushimatsu wasn't feeling happy at all… so, his smile was probably seen as forced while his excuses were dumb. For a few moments considered it was impossible to look happy, it was impossible unless… no, why was he thinking about that? Unfortunately, his mind had divagated towards the sensation of euphoria he had experienced, the way in which in that trance he couldn't stop thinking positively and how nothing mattered, in how his physical and emotional pain had been null…

Jyushimatsu scolded himself for thinking about that, how could he consider it? After the intensity in which he had felt frightened… why was his mind going back to contemplate it? Why was it so pleasing to remember it? He remembered how anxious he felt after being that happy because of the substance and that made him nervous… it's just that the memory of that state was so strong that it ended overwhelming his sense of danger.

The youngest contemplated in his mind how well he had felt and was starting to wonder if it really had been something bad… Yeah! Yeah it had! A stranger had used that substance on purpose! He shouldn't think on that substance, not if those thoughts he was having nulled those that at the moment had told him it had been dangerous. Jyushimatsu kept fighting himself until the three of them reached the hospital.

"Wow, it feels like I haven't been here for ages" said Choromatsu with a smile. Matsuyo looked at him and giggled a bit at the comment.

"That's because you've been sleeping" said Matsuyo before walking to the entrance. As she saw Jyushimatsu wasn't following them, she stopped.

Jyushimatsu looked at the building, he found it incredibly hostile for some reason, every fiber in his body was telling him not to enter… but sadly, it was inevitable, he couldn't just not go inside if he wanted to keep silent about what had happened…

"Jyushimatsu?" Matsuyo tried once more. The youngest looked at her and smiled trying to hide his horror for the place. Choromatsu couldn't help but stare at him between confused and concerned.

"Hmm?" Jyushimatsu snapped from his trance and looked at his mom who was about to entr. "Ah! Right! Coming, coming!" he said as he ran after them, now it would be impossible not to enter…

 **xXxXxXxXx**

The three of them entered the hospital and headed towards Ichimatsu's room. Jyushimatsu was holding his mother's hand trying to feel a little safer. He avoided looking anywhere around him since he felt his heart was about to burst, from the moment he had stepped inside, Jyushimatsu couldn't calm down. The youngest felt how his perception distorted: the sounds turned louder, the footsteps resonated inside his head the more they advanced, his paranoia progressively increased… was he being followed? No, no, it wasn't like that. It was normal to hear footsteps, they were in a hospital after all… but… Why was he feeling followed?

"Jyushimatsu…" Choromatsu murmured with no intention to let his mother hear, he was worried about his brother since he was noticeably nervous. What was wrong with him?

Jyushimatsu didn't seem to notice the stare he was receiving from his brother, how could he? At the moment he couldn't do anything but try to fight with the sensations he was perceiving, with all the anxiety that walking through the hallways caused him, how his heartbeats and heavy breathing were more prominent than the hospital's noise. The fifth brother fought strongly to not show his fear and nervousness, it was everything his mind was focused on; he was allowing himself being pulled along and acted like he was living the moment… but outside the distortion inside his mind, he didn't know where he was going or what was happening at that very moment.

They approached Ichimatsu's room soon enough, Jyushimatsu was still lost in his thoughts but his mother's voice had managed to get him back to reality.

"We are here, don't be loud since Ichimatsu could be sleeping, okay?" Matsuyo said to both. Choromatsu and Jyushimatsu nodded and followed her inside the room, they were really eager to see their brother.

Ichimatsu opened his eyes and slowly looked towards the door where he saw how his family came inside, it seemed that it was his mother with two of his brothers. Matsuzo stopped reading the newspaper and instead looker at his wife and sons, it made him happy to see them so he offered them a smile. Matsuyo returned the gesture as she closed the door behind her.

"Ichimatsu, how are you?" Choromatsu asked his brother who looked completely bored. Jyushimatsu walked closer to the other two and smiled when he saw his older brother rubbing his temples.

"Ah… I'm suffering…" said Ichimatsu as he kept rubbing his temples in a semblance of agony. Choromatsu looked at him concerned, Ichimatsu noticed his expression and sighed when realizing his older brother probably thought it was something serious. "Not physically… I'm suffering because I'm bored"

"Oh, I see" said Choromatsu while looking at him sympathetically, he could imagine how awful it was to not be able to do anything… well not imagine since he already knew what it was like but it was a fact that he wouldn't be able to stay so many days without moving. "There's only a few days left, hold on a little longer, Ichimatsu"

"I don't know if I can… this sucks…" said Ichimatsu before hiding under the covers "And the worst thing is that my body still hurts"

"Haha, hospitals aren't magical, it's only been five days, I'm sure they'll let you out soon" said Choromatsu while finding funny how Ichimatsu had covered his head with the covers.

Jyushimatsu was only watching the interaction between Choromatsu and Ichimatsu without saying a word, he was still affected by the hospital and even though he was scolding himself… his body wasn't responding, he couldn't move. The fifth brother only reacted when his father stood up and walked towards the door.

"Ichimatsu" Matsuzo said. Ichimatsu uncovered his head and looked at his father in response. "I need to go to work, I'll leave you in charge of your siblings and your mother, okay?"

"Yes… I think so…" said Ichimatsu as he saw his father, he waved silently at him and went back to cover his head with the covers. "Ahhhhh I'm so fed up with this…"

Matsuyo giggled lightly as she saw her son's attitude, she then approached him and gave him a small hug even though he was still under the covers.

"Ichimatsu, dear, how did you sleep?" the mother asked to her son who was now trapped between her arms.

"Huh? I slept well… but being in bed is what annoys me" said Ichimatsu "Mom, when will I be able to leave? Do I have to stay for more days…?"

"I don't know, but, if you want me to… I can ask the doctor once I have the chance" said Matsuyo as she freed the boy by releasing the hug. Ichimatsu stuck out his head and looked at her mother between tired and frustrated.

"Yeah, I'd appreciate knowing that…" said Ichimatsu "I remember Choromatsu said something about a week… but I want to be sure" Matsuyo nodded happily as Choromatsu laughed at his brother's misfortune. Ichimatsu looked at him with slight irritation, of course, he could notice the strange silence coming from his other brother. "Jyushimatsu… How are you?"

"Huh…?" Jyushimatsu uttered as he then noticed the three pairs of stares directed at him. The fifth brother grinned and scratched his head. "Sorry, I was lost in thought, I'm fine, how about you?" Choromatsu frowned disapprovingly once he saw the grin, it was starting to really irk him.

"I see… I'm fine, I guess" said Ichimatsu as he noticed the yellow sweatshirt that his younger brother was wearing, was it cold outside? "Is it cold outside?" Jyushimatsu understood that his older brother was looking at the sweatshirt but he preferred not to answer that.

"Oh, no, not at all, it's a really pleasant day outside after all" said Matsuyo without seeing the exchange of stares between the three. After listening to that, Ichimatsu couldn't help but squint at his brother's clothes, was he hiding something? Maybe… but, he couldn't ask anything with his mother there, he didn't want to embarrass his brother. Ichimatsu looked at Choromatsu in search for answers, it was like telepathy since Choromatsu could get what his younger brother was meaning to ask him.

Choromatsu shook his head in a way Ichimatsu knew Jyushimatsu hadn't explained anything yet. Ichimatsu was worried and was even more since he knew of his brother's injury, he really wanted and needed to know what was going on.

"Ichimatsu, have you eaten breakfast?" Matsuyo asked his son who considered the question to be achance to make his mother leave the room… he didn't like the idea of shooing her deliberately but at the moment it was necessary.

"No" said Ichimatsu making her mother stare at him really preoccupied "They did bring me something to eat but I didn't want it, I wasn't hungry… that and I'm tired of the taste the food has in this place"

"I see… I think I can undersyand, my poor son…" said his mother hugely concerned "Don't worry, I'll bring you some breakfast then, I can't leave you without eating" Matsuyo headed to the door, though she stopped before leaving and looked at Choromatsu. "Choromatsu, can you come with me?"

"Eh? But Ichimatsu…" Choromatsu wasn't pleased with the idea of leaving him.

"Oh, don't worry, Jyushimatsu will stay with him… I'll buy you something too" Matsuyo said insistently. Choromatsu wasn't content but he eventually decided it was better to go with his mother.

"Okay… Jyushimatsu, take care of Ichimatsu in the meantime" said Choromatsu to Jyushimatsu who looked curiously at him.

"Ah… yeah, of course" said Jyushimatsu to his older brother before his mother and Choromatsu left. Jyushimatsu remained paralyzed as he listened to the complete stillness of the room once he was left alone with Ichimatsu; he was nervous and didn't know what to say.

"Jyushimatsu…" said Ichimatsu as he noticed how his brother was saying anything even though his mother and brother had left. "What happened to the others?"

"Uhm, well… all I know is that they went to school…" said Jyushimatsu "They weren't in the room when we woke up"

"Oh… I understand" Ichimatsu murmured before letting an awkward silence fill the room. What was wrong with Jyushimatsu? "Jyushimatsu…"

"Hmm? Is something wrong?" Jyushimatsu asked him with the same fake grin from before. Ichimatsu frowned at him.

"You were asleep in the room yesterday…. Everyone was worried about you, even though I asked what happened nobody could tell me anything" said Ichimatsu as he kept staring at the sweatshirt, if it wasn't cold outside… Why was he wearing that?

"Oh… really? I don't remember anything about yesterday" said Jyushimatsu trying to avoid the subject. Ichimatsu was visibly annoyed.

"Doesn't surprise me… after all, you were asleep until dad took you home in his arms" said Ichimatsu. Jyushimatsu didn't have any memories about that but he was aware of that since he had listened to the explanation earlier.

"Yeah, I don't know why fell asleep all day" said Jyushimatsu with the best smile he could muster. Ichimatsu couldn't stop seeing the sweatshirt, why did he care so much? Was he that annoyed that he was using it when it was hot outside? Or… could it be he was hiding something under it? Ichimatsu wasn't exactly sure of the reason but he was getting an upsetting feeling from just staring at it…

"Well… and… Jyushimatsu, no one knows what happened but… now that you are awake and we are alone… would you tell me?" Ichimatsu said without drifting from the subject, he wasn't going to let his brother change it or play stupid about it, he was going to know what was up even if he had to force the story out of him.

"Huh?" Jyushimatsu was taken aback once he heard that, he didn't expect to be questioned about what had happened so suddenly "I… no… uhm, nothing important happened…" the fifth brother smiled from ear to ear with the intention to keep avoiding the question.

"Jyushimatsu, that wound on your leg didn't appear magically" Ichimatsu said trying to figure out why his brother was smiling like that. "Tell me what happened"

"Uhmm… I was just playing in the room and I ended up cutting myself, it's nothing" said Jyushimatsu. Ichimatsu frowned once more as he heard the obvious lies from his brother.

"Jyushimatsu, you don't know how to lie, tell me what happened already" said Ichimatsu. Jyushimatsu wasn't stopping his excuses, he believed he had to at least come up with something to dissuade him.

"It's true, it was a dark room, I bumped into something and fell and then…" Jyushimatsu tried explaining before he was cut off by his brother.

"Jyushimatsu, I already told you that I'm not believing anything you are saying" said Ichimatsu "That wound can't be made just by getting hurt around the room, there's no way"

"But that's what happened… I…"

"Jyushimatsu! Stop, stop lying, you're making me mad!" said Ichimatsu as he closed his eyes and turned to face in another direction. Jyushimatsu looked at Ichimatsu feeling really bad about his lies, he hadn't just lied to him… he had dared to keep lying even though his brother knew he was doing so.

"Ichimatsu…" Jyushimatsu murmured feeling really guilty, Ichimatsu didn't seem to want to look at him, he looked pretty angry. "I…"

"I don't know why you don't want to tell me, I don't know why you don't want to share… but you know? I rather have you telling me that you don't want to say anything than you lying to me… or well, try to lie, I don't know what your problem is but… don't you think I know when you are lying? Even if you made up a believable lie, I would know you are lying!" Ichimatsu exclaimed to Jyushimatsu who took a step backwards as he was startled by his brother's sudden outburst.

"It's just… I…" Jyushimatsu wanted to tell him, he really wanted to… but to simply remember the man made him reconsider, it made him unable to tell him the truth.

"Jyushimatsu, we play together, we tell each other everything… I know when something's wrong with you, and I understand when you don't want to tell me something… but, hiding it is the worst you can do… no, not hiding it… trying to deceive me with things that didn't happen is worse. Are you afraid of me judging you? I thought you trusted me more than that!" said Ichimatsu as he felt really frustrated since he didn't know how to convince the other to tell him… Didn't his brother know that he was acting like something serious had happened? It was impossible for Ichimatsu to not lose it if his brother had gone through something unimaginable and he wasn't telling him what that had been.

"Ichimatsu… I… it's not that I don't want to tell you, it's just that I can't…" said Jyushimatsu without helping the situation. Ichimatsu looked down and closed his eyes once more.

"It doesn't matter, if you don't want to tell me… don't, just don't give me any more excuses" said Ichimatsu. He would never understand and forgive his brother, who he always hung up with, that he was lying to him like that.

"I'm sorry, I truly am…" Jyushimatsu felt really bad for not opening up but he just couldn't. Ichimatsu eyed Jyushimatsu and stared at the sweatshirt once more… he wasn't giving up, he had tried the nice way… sadly, he would need to go for the hard way.

"Jyushimatsu, ever since you came in the room you've been acting like a stranger with me, how do you want me to feel?" Ichimatsu said causing Jyushimatsu to look puzzled at him.

"What? Like a stranger..?" Jyushimatsu tried to understand what he had done when entering the room… and after a bit remembered what he hadn't done. "Oh! I'm sorry, it seems it slipped from my mind" the fifth brother walked towards Ichimatsu and hugged him. "I hope you can forgive me, I was lost in thought so I forgot…"

"Yeah… I suppose you were distracted…" said Ichimatsu as he tugged from his sweatshirt and simulated a hug, Jyushimatsu didn't seem to suspect anything until he tried stepping back.

"Ichimatsu…?" Jyushimatsu murmured as he noticed that his brother wasn't letting him go, however, before understanding what was happening, Ichimatsu pulled him with force and tried to take his sweatshirt off.

"…thinking on what was under the sweatshirt" Ichimatsu finished his sentence while grabbing the sweatshirt and staring at his brother's naked chest in attempt to find a hint of what had happened to Jyushimatsu.

"Eh?!" Jyushimatsu was paralyzed for an instance while his brother scanned his body trying to find anything suspicious that could tell him what he wanted to know. Jyushimatsu managed to move after the initial shock and tried recovering his sweatshirt desperately, he had grabbed it and was pulling from it the best way he could as to snatch it back from his brother who didn't look like he was going to release his hold any time soon. "Ichimatsu! Let go! Please!"

"No, I'm not giving it back, not until I understand what happened" said Ichimatsu while he struggled to keep it in his hold. Jyushimatsu was pulling it with all the strength he could muster, he couldn't allow him to… wait, what was he doing? It's not like he had a mark on his chest so he didn't need to use his sweatshirt so bad…

"Ichimatsu!" Sadly, his thoughts hadn't really made a difference, his body was still fighting to gain the sweatshirt like if that was important, his brain wasn't telling his body that it was irrelevant… at least not yet, however, as he noticed how Ichimatsu looked at his wrist by mere chance, he released his hold and preferred stepping back violently.

"Wait" Ichimatsu grabbed him from his wrist after realizing what he was looking for was in that place, it wasn't a very obvious place… in fact, Jyushimatsu could have managed to hide it if it wasn't because he started to fight for the sweatshirt. Jyushimatsu saw how Ichimatsu was about to see the marking so in an attempt to hide it, he pulled his arm with all of his strength… making his brother fall from the bed in the process since he was holding his wrist tightly. "Ugh…" Ichimatsu's body was aching all over so it had been a really great effort to shift his position to one slightly more comfortable on the floor.

"Ichimatsu…!" Jyushimatsu freaked out when he realized what he had done, his older brother was on the floor clearly suffering from not being able to move well. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to do this… I'm sorry…" The fifth brother approached him right away and didn't hesitate to help his brother back on the bed, though, Ichimatsu used that moment to hold his brother's wrist once more.

"Jyushimatsu, what is this marking?" said Ichimatsu making his brother look nervous "And I hope you won't throw me to the other side of the room just for asking"

"I…" Jyushimatsu murmured while trying to get his brother back on the bed, it was difficult since he was heavy for him but he was managing somehow.

"Consider that I already saw your marking, there's no use of hiding it any longer" said Ichimatsu. Jyushimatsu looked reluctant to say anything anyway. "Jyushimatsu, please understand that I'm worried!"

Jyushimatsu helped Ichimatsu back to the bed and took some moments of silence before saying anything. Ichimatsu looked hurt because of the betrayal he felt from his brother, why was he being so stubborn? He wasn't normally like that, the stubborn one was Osomatsu… not him…

"Is it so important for you not to tell me…? It's impossible for me to know…? I thought that… I thought that…" Ichimatsu seemed to kill his line of thought as he was about to give in, he didn't want to keep feeling about about his brother keeping the story to himself.

"Ichimatsu…" Ichimatsu wondered what the exact reason was for Jyushimatsu to decide so strongly to not tell him the truth, was he that unreliable? He didn't know but he didn't want to think about anything, if his brother didn't want to tell him it was better to just let it go.

"I understand, Jyushimatsu, you don't have to tell me, it doesn't matter" said Ichimatsu as he offered him the sweatshirt "Ah… and don't worry, I won't say anything about what just happened, I won't tell them you threw me either… they don't have to know that"

Jyushimatsu observed his brother, he understood why his sibling was so concerned for him and knew he only wanted to help him… but… could he tell him? He had been threatened… Was it really a good idea to tell him even if it was just him? What if he was killed because he caved? He didn't want to lose his brothr for something like that.

"Wait, Ichimatsu… I… the reason I can't say anything…" said Jyushimatsu to Ichimatsu who looked at him with mild curiosity. He was going to talk now?

"Jyushimatsu, don't force yourself, if you don't want to tell me…"

"I was threatened with you all, I was told you all would be killed if I opened my mouth" said Jyushimatsu after gathering enough courage. Ichimatsu looked startled by what he had said, what on earth…?

"Jyushimatsu… what are you saying…?" Ichimatsu asked him as he forgot gradually about the betrayal he had felt before. Jyushimatsu turned to see in another direction with a really sad expression on his face, he had said it, was that enough to get his brother to be killed? No… he hadn't said anything crucial.

"When the wound on my leg happened… and this mark on my wrist… when that happened, I was threatened not to speak… I'm afraid for everyone's safety, that's why I don't want to say anything" said Jyushimatsu now staring at Ichimatsu "It's not that I don't want to tell you, I'm just scared…"

"You were threatened..?" Ichimatsu didn't know how to process what his brother had just confessed. What should he say or ask? But well… at least he understood now that h wasn't acting like that because he didn't trust him.

"Yes… they told me if I were to share what happened then my entire family would be killed" said Jyushimatsu "I don't want you to be hurt, that's why I…"

"Jyushimatsu, how would they know you told us? Are they watching you? Ichimatsu asked him now back to normal, he wasn't feeling hurt by betrayal anymore. Jyushimatsu looked at him without understanding. "Yeah, how will they know you told us?"

"Well… that I don't know…" said Jyushimatsu. Ichimatsu smiled when hearing this, could it have been an empty threat?

"Do you have any microphones on your body or something like that so they know you said more than necessary?" Ichimatsu asked. Jyushimatsu shook his head.

"Well... unless he had done so in a moment I didn't notice but... I don't think so..." said Jyushimatsu. Ichimatsu asked him to come closer and so checked his head as to see if he had anything, after Jyushimatsu took off his pants to see if there was something there, both noticed that there was nothing like what Ichimatsu was mentioning.

"No, you don't have any microphones... I think you were only frightened enough to be kept silent" said Ichimatsu while Jyushimatsu took his pants back. Jyushimatsu blinked several times still confused. "That means you are free to tell me" Ichimatsu was feeling really proud for having seen enough spy movies to suspect about a hidden microphone, it had apparently helped his brother's situation.

"You think so? But..." Jyushimatsu murmured still uneasy. Ichimatsu nodded happily.

"I was thinking on keeping this a secret but... because of what you are saying, it's better that we all know" said Ichimatsu making Jyushimatsu stare at him worriedly, he didn't understand that logic. "That person that threatened you... he doesn't know we are sextuplets, does he?"

"No, he shouldn't... I don't think he saw Osomatsu..." said Jyushimatsu as he thought that maybe Osomatsu was the reason that the man had said he had the impression of Jyushimatsu being the one that was listening on him... oh well...

"Then it's logical that we all know... don't you think it would be odd that he ran into you somewhere else and you didn't recognize him?" mentioned Ichimatsu "If we all know it's like you knew, as long he doesn't see us together... he doesn't have a reason to suspect we are not the same person"

"Oh..." murmured Jyushimatsu as he reflected on his brother's reasoning. "I understand, yeah, it'd be weird that they didn't know since it would be like I didn't know..."

"And another thing..." Ichimatsu looked towards the window with concern "If you don't explain us then you'd be putting us in danger"

"What...? Why..?"

"I'm relieved you told me this or I don't know what would have happened..." said Ichimatsu before staring intently at his brother. "If we don't know about that person, if we don't know what happened to you... we are exposed to that person doing something to us, if we don't know who it is and what he does then we can't run if we spot him..."

"Ah! You are right... I wouldn't like him doing something to you guys thinking you are me..." said Jyushimatsu as he understood the risk his brother explained. Jyushimatsu felt better now knowing that there wasn't anything wrong in telling his brothers. "Hey... but, what about mom and dad?"

"I think they shouldn't know, they would be really worried and make a scandal... I'm sure that Osomatsu would say the same as well" explained Ichimatsu "But, if it makes you feel better... we can ask Choromatsu for his opinion once he is back"

"Oh, yeah, that sounds good" said Jyushimatsu now with a true smile on his face. Ichimatsu smiled slightly before returning his attention to his wrist.

"So... what happened? Do you think you can tell me now?" Ichimatsu asked to Jyushimatsu who nodded in response. "When the others are back then we'll tell them" Jyushimatsu nodded again, he felt better than before... now that he could tell his brothers, he felt like he could get over anything that came in his way, he knew his brothers would be there for him.


	6. Lies

**Chapter 6. Lies**

Osomatsu was laying on his desk while he watched the clock hands intently as they slowly approached the time for recess, Osomatsu couldn't wait since he didn't really want to be at school…if he could do as he wished, he would be in Ichimatsu's room trying to make Jyushimatsu spill the beans of what had happened to him. Osomatsu couldn't stop thinking about his childish behavior towards Jyushimatsu, hadn't he learned a thing with Ichimatsu? Though, it was true he couldn't be everywhere… No! That was a silly excuse to justify his actions, he didn't have a way to make up for what he did, because of him… one of his brothers almost ended in bed again. The eldest was thinking in all these things while the class continued, he didn't know what it was about since he was more distracted with the guilt he felt; part of him was telling him to not worry and that he had all the rights to laugh but the other was telling him that he should have been more considerate and listen to what Jyushimatsu was trying to say.

Karamatsu was sitting on the desk beside his brother's, he stared at him from time to time since he found his apparent apathy to being in the class to be interesting… well, more than that, Karamatsu was intrigued by how his brother didn't seem to mind showing his lack of interest in the class since he swore that his eyes could only watch the clock hands in an attempt to make them hurry. Karamatsu smiled sympathetically at that but in brief, his attention shifted back to the class where the teacher was explaining something about their dreams and objectives for the future… yeah, it looked like they'd have to write about it and indeed… it was something Osomatsu was going to have a hard time with, he would probably write something about being a hero or some other silly thing to not take his homework seriously.

"Osomatsu-kun!" The teacher suddenly called as she explained the homework. Osomatsu didn't want to look at her but as she grew insistent, he limited himself to look at her with the same poker face he was doing to stare at the clock. "I hope you take the homework seriously this time and you bring me something decent to read"

"Hmm…" Osomatsu murmured while considering what the teacher was saying but… what was the homework about? He didn't know so he had no way to reply. The raven haired chose to smile and chuckle a bit in response. "Frankly though, I have no idea what the homework is about" such comment made the entire class laugh, his brothers included, of course, and with the exception of the teacher.

"The homework is about your future, if you didn't pay attention, you can go ask one of your brothers" said the teacher as she looked at the other two. "You better not disappoint me with another of your poorly made 'tries' as you call them"

"But teacher… how can I write something poor when you only asked me to talk about what I want for my future?" asked Osomatsu not really interested.

"I don't know, you tell me, how can you write something poor out of that? However, I warn you, do not play with my patience" said the teacher before the bell for recess went off. Osomatsu smiled from ear to ear as he heard the sound and immediately stood up from his place. The teacher shifted her attention from Osomatsu towards the class to give one last announcement. "I want you all to think about it, write it down and hand it in for Monday. Put some effort into it or else I'll ask you to redo it" said the woman as she gave a last glance towards Osomatsu who only smiled. "Have a nice weekend"

Once the teacher had finished speaking, the kids ran as a stampede towards their so craved freedom… leaving the classroom empty in a matter of seconds. Karamatsu, Todomatsu and Osomatsu were the only ones remaining in the classroom since they didn't like having to fight for their lives just to get out.

"Osomatsu, you are so brave to talk to the teacher like that" said Todomatsu who was walking towards the exit without waiting for the other two, of course, after having said that, he turned around to stare at his older brother.

"But it's true, I wasn't paying attention" said Osomatsu "She would have questioned me if I had gone along with it… it's better to just tell some of teachers the truth since I really have no idea what they are saying most of the time"

"You should try not to reply like that anyway, a more temperamental teacher would have called our parents" said Todomatsu.

"Hmm… you are right about that… but well, it's just inevitable haha" said Osomatsu without really caring if the teachers got mad for saying the truth. "Anyway, let's go eat and play for a while"

"Ah? No, I can't, a teacher asked me to go to the teacher's office… but I'll see you guys later" said Todomatsu "I want to know the thing about Jyushimatsu"

"That, if you come back before recess is over" said Karamatsu "If not, we'll tell you after classes" Todomatsu nodded and waved before disappearing through the hallway.

"Okay then, Karamatsu, let's look for a place to eat!" said Osomatsu. Karamatsu exited the classroom along with Osomatsu and walked towards the school's rooftop; Karamatsu wasn't sure if it was okay for them to go over there so he remained staring at his brother feeling really insecure.

"Osomatsu… I don't think we should come here…" said Karamatsu as he went upstairs. Osomatsu didn't look back and instead continued facing towards the rooftop's direction.

"Hmm? Why not? I think the rooftop is a good place to spend recess" said Osomatsu happily, Karamatsu wasn't sharing his contentment.

"Osomatsu… middle schoolers usually come here… don't they? We'll be in trouble if they see us here" said Karamatsu as he feared the older ones could hurt them or something for stepping into their 'territory'.

"Oh, that? Don't worry, they don't come here at these hours, they are in classes after all" said Osomatsu without minding the middle schoolers being there. "Besides, the rooftop belongs to everyone"

"There's always those that skip a class…" said Karamatsu in a low voice as he saw how his brother really didn't care since they were already in front of the door. "Osomatsu, we should go back…"

"Karamatsu, are you scared? Haha, don't worry, everything will be fine" said Osomatsu as he pushed the door open. Karamatsu followed him out to the rooftop, even though he felt insecure, he didn't want to leave Osomatsu go by himself.

As they stepped out, both boys looked around and noticed that, effectively, no one was there. After a few seconds, Osomatsu laughed and looked at Karamatsu with an expression which clearly stated 'I told you so'.

"Oh, seems you were right" said Karamatsu as he looked around with a big smile. "It's the first time I come here" said the second brother who felt relieved that there really was no older kid around the area.

"Yes, good thing I made you follow me here" said Osomatsu who walked around and examined every detail about the rooftop. "I've been wanting to come here".

"Why hadn't you?" Karamatsu asked his older brother who remained thinking for a bit.

"Well… none of you had wanted to come, haha, I think it's a good place to spend time together" said Osomatsu. Nobody had wanted to join Osomatsu? It seems Karamatsu wasn't the only one who thought about the middle schoolers…

"What about Choromatsu? You're always together, I'd imagine he would come here with you if you asked him to" said Karamatsu as he watched his brother approach the fence surrounding the rooftop.

"Hmm… I hadn't thought about it, I might do that some other day, Choromatsu would surely be curious about coming here" said Osomatsu as he considered that option. "But I'm also happy that you came here with me" the eldest observed the city intensely. "Karamatsu, look, what do you think about this?"

"What thing?" Karamatsu approached the fence and observed the city while wondering if Osomatsu was referring to that. "Are you talking about the city?"

"Yes, isn't it incredible? The rooftop has a great view to the city" said Osomatsu in a contemplative manner. Karamatsu watched the view and couldn't help but agree with his brother.

"It's true, it's interesting to see the city from a high place" said Karamatsu "It's not that high but it's still something"

"High places are really great" said Osomatsu "Do you think we can find our house if we look for it?" Karamatsu didn't look so sure. "Hmm, right… it might be impossible to see our house from here…"

The eldest gripped the fence and started to look for the hospital Ichimatsu was in, however, to him all buildings looked the same so he couldn't really distinguish it with certainty.

"What are you doing?" Karamatsu asked his brother who kept trying to find the hospital. Osomatsu looked at him a bit frustrated.

"I'm trying to find the hospital" said Osomatsu. Karamatsu examined the view and pointed towards a particular direction.

"Of what I know, the hospital is in that direction" Karamatsu said before stepping back a little, he wanted to sit and eat the lunch their mother had prepared.

"Oh, I see, interesting… I wonder what Ichimatsu, Jyushimatsu and Choromatsu are doing" said Osomatsu without tearing his attention away from the city. Karamatsu grabbed one of the bentos and stared at it before shifting his attention back to Osomatsu.

"I think they might be trying to make Jyushimatsu tell them what happened" said Karamatsu as he started to eat. Osomatsu turned to see him after hearing that.

"You think?"

"Definitely, since… Jyushimatsu was asleep an entire day" said Karamatsu "I'm more than sure that if Choromatsu doesn't manage to… then Ichimatsu will" Osomatsu seemed interested in what he was saying, therefore he wanted to know more of what he thought was going to happen. "Both of them are always together so it would be too weird that Jyushimatsu didn't tell him either"

"Hmmm… but that doesn't mean we'll get to know, that just means Ichimatsu will" said Osomatsu somehow disappointed since he wanted to know as well.

"I think that the fact that he tells someone is progress somehow, maybe if we are patient then he'll tell us as well" said Karamatsu.

"I think you are right, well, I think the best thing we can do is go and wait at the hospital… I hope things get better" said Osomatsu. Karamatsu nodded and then asked Osomatsu to take a seat beside him as he tapped the space next to him. Osomatsu noticed this and complied right away, he sat aside of his brother to then take the other bento his mother had prepared.

"You'll see they will" said Karamatsu as he offered him a smile before he kept eating in silence. Osomatsu ate as he observed the fence in front of him.

"Hey… Karamatsu… what do you think the fence is for?" Osomatsu suddenly asked his brother who looked a bit confused for the question.

"Well… isn't it there so that students don't sit on the ledge? I'm sure many like doing that…" said Karamatsu as he thought about it. "Wait a second, are you bothered by the fence because you wanted to do that?"

"Ah… well, I just think the fence just looks a bit ugly, haha" said Osomatsu as he let a chuckle escape while rubbing sideways under his nose with his index finger.

"Ugly huh… I hadn't thought about that…" said Karamatsu to himself "You are right, it looks ugly, but… it's for safety so it's okay"

"Is it that dangerous to sit on the ledge?" Osomatsu asked. Karamatsu didn't understand how he could ask that, it was obvious it was…

"Of course, one wrong move and they could fall… it isn't nice to fall from this floor" said Karamatsu. Osomatsu nodded.

"Yeah, they would probably not survive… although, is the height what makes it dangerous?" asked Osomatsu not really helping with Karamatsu's confusion.

"What do you mean…?"

"It's just that… what makes it so dangerous? What's the difference between sitting on the ledge of this building and sitting on the ledges on other places?" asked Osomatsu to his brother who was thinking as he chewed his food.

"The height? The fall is more dangerous the taller the building is" said Karamatsu. Osomatsu focused on his food for a bit before going back to his weird line of thinking.

"But is it like a given that you'll fall if you sit on the ledge of a tall place than if you sit on one near the ground?"

"Hmm… I think I see your point… I'd say it's more about how people perceive the height, some get really nervous and that's why people fall rather easily" said Karamatsu.

"So it's more because of a fear of heights? Then if you don't have that fear… would you fall anyway?"

"Well, that's a good point to make… I suppose not" said Karamatsu "If you are calm then I suppose you won't necessarily fall, it's just the nervousness that would make you fall… but, you have to know that you are equally vulnerable to someone startling you, to someone pushing you or some other thing… I don't think many people have the mental strength to be sitting on the ledge and that's that why I think it's best for that behavior to be prohibited"

"I see" said Osomatsu as he then laughed, it wasn't a mocking laugh, he wasn't judging the replies or anything like that… he seemed to enjoy that his brother was replying the way he was doing.

"What are you laughing about?"

"It's nothing, it's just that it makes me happy that you answer me without questioning me for asking such weird stuff… not mentioning you took my questions seriously" said Osomatsu while closing his bento now that it was empty and placed it aside of him.

"I think it's normal to ask those kind of things time to time" said Karamatsu who was now staring at the sky while he replied "They are interesting even if they don't seem like it"

"I have to admit that I got nervous when I thought about someone pushing me off into oblivion" said Osomatsu while laughing lightly before laying down and staring at the sky as well. "Gazing at the sky calms me down, it's horrible to imagine what would happen if someone pushed you… I know it's obvious but I'm referring to the horrible sensation to be thrown into imminent death"

"Ah… yeah, oh, Osomatsu, that's awful, don't think about that" said Karamatsu who had felt his stomach churn for thinking about someone possibly pushing his brother off the building. "Hey…"

"Hmm?" the eldest murmured curiously.

"Promise me you won't ever sit on the rooftop's ledge" said Karamatsu a bit worried. "I know you think is fun but I don't want anything happening to you… mom and dad would be sad as well"

"What? But we just had a chat about the fence that prevents that from happening" said Osomatsu. Karamatsu sighed.

"No… didn't you see the ladder? There's that place that can be used for that… though I think it's stupid to let you know about that but I want to think you won't do that…" said Karamatsu as he regretted having told him.

"Hey, hey, those were sudden questions that came to my mind… it's true that I'm curious in doing that but I wouldn't do it at school, your suggestion of someone pushing me off the building discouraged me to try" said Osomatsu.

"I'm happy to know I helped with something" said Karamatsu relieved because his brother wasn't trying something like that, it was true that everyone tried crazy stuff many times but… there were lines that shouldn't be crossed.

"Though I may try looking for a tall place where there are no possible interruptions" said Osomatsu while dedicating a grin to his brother. Karamatsu frowned in concern.

"Osomatsu…"

"What? It's still intriguing, there's this pleasing sensation for being in tall places… I wonder how it is to sit on other ledges where buildings are even taller" Osomatsu said as he walked again towards the fence.

"Why does it seem like you were always interested in heights?" asked Karamatsu quite curious, his brother hadn't talked about anything like this before. "You had not mentioned it" Osomatsu remained thoughtful after hearing him.

"I don't know, I simply just hadn't had found the right moment to mention it… as you say, it's not something that comes up in everyday conversation" said Osomatsu "And I'm not normally in these kind of places with you guys, so, it wasn't something I was going to mention"

"I see… well, I don't think is bad you are interested in heights… just that I'm worried of what can happen to you if you are not careful" said Karamatsu. Osomatsu didn't seem to hear the last thing since he was now thinking about many things involved with liking looking down once near the ledge. The eldest eyed the ladder mentioned by Karamatsu and ran to climb it.

"Oso…? Osomatsu! Hey!" Karamatsu shouted as he saw how his brother climbed really excited. I just told you to stay away from there!"

"I won't sit on the ledge, relax" said Osomatsu "As long as I don't do that I should be fine, right?" Karamatsu didn't seem to think the same, why would his brother never listen?

"It's not okay… I don't want to be a party-pooper but… if you are seen there it's possible for you to be suspended from school" said Karamatsu to Osomatsu who was now looking at the city even more marveled than before, how would it look like at night time?

"Don't you feel the same? These type of places make me feel like a superhero" said Osomatsu as he chuckled to the idea. Karamatsu had approached the building where Osomatsu was, he hadn't gone up with him but was staring from below. "Maybe it's because it allows me to gaze at the city like this"

"Well… I would be lying if I said I'm not interested in sitting on the ledge of a high place like you say…" said Karamatsu as he pondered about it, of course, as he saw his brother walking closer to the ledge and how he was now looking down, he could feel his heart racing. "Osomatsu… hey…! Stay away from the ledge!" Karamatsu shouted to his brother who didn't seem to care of what he was saying.

"I'm still not sitting, it's fine" said Osomatsu while he kept staring down. Karamatsu wanted to yank him away from there but he knew it could be dangerous for him to go up there with him. "Wow, it sure is high…"

"Osomatsu...! That' not the point, the point is that you shouldn't get so close! You can fall!" said Karamatsu now angry. "Come down! You're making me really nervous!"

"I wonder if it'll hurt to fall from here…" said Osomatsu to then smile mockingly to the obvious, however, he turned to stare at Karamatsu. "Do you think it would hurt to fall from here?"

"Huh? Well… I don't know" said Karamatsu making Osomatsu drop his smile and stare at him puzzled. What did he mean with that? It was a given that it would hurt… right?

"It should… shouldn't it? Why are you saying you don't know?" Osomatsu asked while stepping away from the ledge to look better at his brother, Karamatsu sighed relieved to see him get closer, he never knew he would feel so stressed to see his brother near the ledge. "Karamatsu?"

"I'm not sure if it would hurt… since… do you think someone would still be alive when reaching the ground?" Karamatsu asked making a good point. "A person that dies after the impact shouldn't feel pain, right?"

"Wow… I never saw it like that" said Osomatsu as he sat on the ledge that was just above where Karamatsu was, as long as he was sitting there he was out of danger… or so the second brother thought. "Now that I think about it, do you think the body of someone that falls from here would still be recognizable?"

"Hmm… probably not, or well, it depends on the height" said Karamatsu. Osomatsu laughed when hearing the word.

"Haha, height again huh… it seems that height determines many things" said Osomatsu to then stand and look down from the other ledge. "Hmm… I think it would still be recognizable, judging from the height of this place… although I still think they would die when reaching the ground"

"Osomatsu, I don't mind that you are asking weird things but you're really stressing me by standing so close to the ledge" said Karamatsu who found his brother's questions interesting, it was the type of things that Karamatsu wondered about so it was nice to hear his older brother make himself those questions… they were so uncommon that he never expected Osomatsu to wonder about the same stuff.

"You know, I have these feelings of wanting to jump sometimes… I wouldn't do it but it's a really powerful sensation" said Osomatsu "Feeling the adrenaline when falling, questioning what would happen if I did that…"

"Osomatsu…" Karamatsu murmured nervously as he kept watching his brother stare down, he wanted to go get him, he was debating between going or not going, he thought on what was the worst that could happen if he happened to climb up so he was restraining himself to not go.

"Like something was telling me to jump, or like a strange force was pulling me" said Osomatsu before laughing "But those are sensations that I can control, those are ideas that come to my mind and just stay there temporally… it's fun to consider them but I don't really pay attention to them"

"Hey… Osomatsu, can you please step away from the ledge?" Karamatsu asked. Osomatsu kept doing as he wanted.

"Have you ever felt those kind of impulses?" Osomatsu asked Karamatsu, though, his smile dropped once he saw Karamatsu's expression change into a very upsetting one. "Ah, Karamatsu, hey, are you okay?"

"Osomatsu… please stay away from the ledge" Karamatsu didn't know why but he couldn't help but worry, why wasn't he staying away from there? Why wouldn't he do as he said? He was now climbing the ladder, he didn't care anymore, he only needed to pull him away from there; he just needed to get rid of the stress of seeing his brother putting himself deliberately in danger.

"Oh, I see… okay, that's fine, I'll step back, you don't have to come for me" said Osomatsu as he finally listened to what his brother had to say, just that, when he was trying to step down the small ramp, he felt how he slipped. Karamatsu noticed this and quickly took his hand and pulled him towards him… good thing he had decided to climb up. "Oh, yikes, that was close… thanks, Karamatsu, haha"

"Osomatsu…" Karamatsu murmured while hugging his brother, he was now shaking out of fear for what he had seen. Osomatsu could feel how his brother's body shook as he held him firmly.

"Karamatsu? Hey…" Osomatsu noticed the way his brother was crying. "I'm fine, nothing happened"

"You almost fall… I told you not to get close to the ledge!" Karamatsu shouted, he was crying out of fear of having seen him trip, he had been nervous before but when he considered that his brother would have fallen if not for him; he couldn't help but cry.

"I think I was too confident with my lack of fear of heights… I think anything can happen, no?" Osomatsu was trying to improve the mood but Karamatsu wasn't listening to him, if anything, his words were making him cry more. "Karamatsu… I'm sorry"

"You better! You scared me!" Karamatsu shouted while trying to get better from the shock. He stepped back, took his hand and pulled him towards the ladder. "Don't come here anymore, if you want to talk you can do it down where is safe"

"Yes, I suppose… it was a bit silly from me, but well, nothing happened in the end, haha" said Osomatsu making Karamatsu hit him on the head as a way to scold him. "Hey…! That was not necessary!"

"I don't know what I have to do so you understand that you shouldn't put yourself in danger like this, it's okay that you like heights but you have to understand that there's things you shouldn't do!" said Karamatsu who was rubbing his head in frustration.

"I understand… I'll do that when you are not around so you don't worry" said Osomatsu making his brother frown at him hatefully, couldn't he get it?

"It's not that! Osomatsu! Why won't you understand?!" Karamatsu exclaimed "Ahhh…" the second brother sighed as he watched Osomatsu go down the ladder, yeah, he had made his brother go first. "I understand you liking it, Osomatsu, I'm not criticizing you… and I don't want you to go to high places behind my back nor anything along those lines..."

"Then?" Osomatsu asked as he watched his brother coming down the ladder, his eyes were still red but he seemed calmer now. He was that worried to see Osomatsu near the ledge?

"Ah… look, I think that… if you are going to a high place you have to tell me" said Karamatsu to Osomatsu who stared back incredulously.

"But if I do that then you're going to start nagging for me to not go" said Osomatsu as he stared at his brother not happy to imagine that situation.

"I rather go with you and stress myself than allow you to go by yourself and not know if something happened to you… besides, I want to be there to be able to help you if you need it…" said Karamatsu in resignation, he knew his brother would keep going to high places and he had no choice but to go and make sure he was okay. "But you have to understand that you can't do that here… you can get expelled"

"I understand, I understand… okay, if I think of going someplace high I'll tell you" said Osomatsu "I'll only do it because it's interesting to talk about weird stuff with you" the eldest offered him a honest smile, he liked knowing Karamatsu would go along with him even though he was worried for him.

"I also like talking about those things… but I can't simply tolerate you being so careless" said Karamatsu as he kept frowning at him. Osomatsu walked closer to him and ruffled his hair, he was grinning in an attempt to making him feel better.

"Haha, you are still such a cry baby, you have to change that sooner or later" said Osomatsu who was still ruffling his hair. Karamatsu sighed with new found resignation and finally smiled.

"Choromatsu is the only one who can put up with you, Todomatsu doesn't do these things" said Karamatsu to his brother who laughed as he heard this, it was true, in fact… in many cases, Osomatsu was the one who had to control his brother since sometimes Choromatsu could be even worse than him.

"Haha, I can barely put up with Choromasu, he is more of a handful than I am" said Osomatsu as he put his arms behind his head and smiled. "I'm sure Choromatsu would love to stare down from the building's ledges" as he said this, Karamatsu elbowed him in response. "Hey…!"

"Whatever… do you have any idea of what to write for the homework?" Karamatsu asked in an attempt to change the conversation.

"Ahh…" Osomatsu murmured really bored before remembering one of the questions he wanted to make to his brother. "By the way, talking about falls… how do you think would be the worst way to die?"

"What…? Osomatsu, you can't escape homework forever…" said Karamatsu as he knew his brother just didn't want to think about the homework… though he had to admit that his question was very interesting.

"Karamatsu, what do you think is the worst way to die?" Osomatsu repeated. Karamatsu gave in to the question obviously made to procrastinate… although, his brother did look interested in knowing his answer.

"The worst way to die?" Karamatsu repeated to himself. Osomatsu walked towards the wall and sat to listen to what his brother had to say, Karamatsu followed him and equally sat. "Well… that's a little hard to say since… there's so many ways…"

"Do you think falling from the building is one of the worst ways?" Osomatsu asked. Karamatsu kept contemplating the options as well as took his question in consideration.

"To be honest, I think there are worst ways to die… falling from a building can be, in my opinion, one of the quickest and depending how you look at it…"

"A very stupid death?" Osomatsu said as he considered it was sad but true, falling from a building and dying because of it could be one of the stupidest ways.

"A little, I guess, at least that's what I would believe if I saw the news" said Karamatsu. Osomatsu looked at him intrigued.

"Wow, behind that smile hides a very cruel being" said Osomatsu confusingly happy, he seemed amused to hear that from his brother. Karamatsu reflected on it and found he had never thought of it as cruel… until Osomatsu said it.

"Why do you say so?"

"If I had fallen before… would you have thought I died in a very stupid way?" Osomatsu asked without accusing him of anything. Karamatsu frowned again and smacked him after hearing such thing. "Ouch…! Hey! Stop hitting me for everything!"

"How can you think like that? Don't take things like that so lightly…" said the second eldest as he gave him a hug. "I would never think is stupid in that situation…"

"Not a little? I mean, some moments ago I was about to fall really stupidly" Said Osomatsu while being hugged. "You have to accept my death would have been very dumb" as he said this, a chuckle escaped from his lips. He did think it would have been stupid.

"Tell me, you… would you think that way if I fell?" Karamatsu asked with curiosity after breaking the hug. Osomatsu thought about it.

"Hmm… if you were to fall like I was about to then maybe" said Osomatsu, though, he quickly shook his head. "No… to be frank, I think I wouldn't think about anything" Karamatsu arched a brow at this. "It's normal, no? I would probably be too scared to say or think anything… but I'm not certain of what I would do in that situation… haha, Karamatsu, you sure make hard questions"

"Well, I can tell you the same thing, how can I think in something like that in that situation? But anyway… I wouldn't consider it one of the worst ways to die" said Karamatsu.

"Then what do you think is?"

"It's hard to think which the worst is in general…" said Karamatsu as he sincerely didn't know what people could think on.

"Then tell me, which one do you consider to be the worst way?"

"Hmm… personally… I think the worst way to die is to be killed" said Karamatsu "And if it's slow then it's worse… although well, I think that's a question I don't make myself that much, I don't know which way I would hate the most"

"I see…" Osomatsu murmured as he allowed himself to slide down the wall and lean against his brother's shoulder in a semblance of laziness. Karamatsu looked at him momentarily and smiled. Osomatsu could feel the attention from his brother so he assumed he wanted to know what he thought as well. "Hmm?"

"What way do you think is the worst?" asked Karamatsu. Osomatsu closed his eyes as he thought about it.

"I… had thought many times about that… and I think that the worst way is… to die sad, alone and with no one knowing" said Osomatsu sure of his answer "There's nothing that could be worse than that"

"Oh… dying without anyone knowing?" Karamatsu repeated. "Sounds scary… I think that your question wasn't just about which ways were more 'painful'"

"Yeah… dying asking for help and nobody coming to help you… that may be the saddest and most frightening way" said Osomatsu sounding sad. Karamatsu stared at him with concern since it seemed like he was saying something that was truly bothering him, however, Osomatsu smiled again. "But maybe… maybe I just watched a lot of movies or something"

"Osomatsu… you…" Karamatsu said in a low voice as he considered asking about his answer but chose to leave it for another time, he thought it wasn't a good idea to ask for more explanations when his brother had already shown him a new side of his. He decided to change the subject. "Have you thought about what you want to be in the future?"

"Ah? Again with that…" Osomatsu sighed "Okay, okay… let's talk about that… do you know what you want to be?"

"Not really, but maybe something that has to do with pastries…" Karamatsu mentioned while blushing a bit. Osomatsu smiled mockingly but equally happy for his brother.

"Really? I thought that was a girl thing…" Osomatsu commented without really judging his brother. Karamatsu looked away really embarrassed.

"It's just that I like helping mom baking cakes and stuff like that… I think it would be interesting dedicating myself to that… well, I would like to have a bakery" said Karamatsu "Although I still don't know for sure, I may change my mind in the future… but I may do my homework about it at least"

"Sounds good, a little weird but good… it's true that the pastries you make with mom taste really yummy" said Osomatsu making Karamatsu beam in response. "I think it's nice you have an idea of what you want"

"I have several things I'm interested in… so I'm not sure I'll end up doing that" said Karamatsu "But what about you?"

"Hmm… it's complicated to be honest, I have thought about it but I can only say that it's too annoying to be forced to write about our future" said Osomatsu sounding annoyed "How do they expect me to write about that?"

"You really haven't thought about anything? Nothing that catches your attention?"

"I have thought about it and it's something that I know and want… but if I write about that, the teacher will think I'm trying to pick a fight" said Osomatsu. Karamatsu arched a brow, why would the teacher think that?

"I know the teacher thinks badly of you… but I don't think she'll scold you if you write about something that really interests you" said Karamatsu. "What are you interested in?"

"What I'm interested in? That's the issue of it all… why do I have to decide to be someone? I am someone" Osomatsu said while pouting and looking away. Karamatsu stared in silence inviting him to continue the explanation. "Karamatsu, I already am, I don't need anything different for the future"

"What do you mean?"

"What I want for the future is 'happiness' I feel completely happy, I don't want to stop being happy… I don't even look forward to it because I already am… what I want is to keep being happy, is that understandable enough?" said Osomatsu to his brother who chuckled in response, it was something to be expected from Osomatsu. "I only want to be with you all, all I want is to not be separated from you five… it's not that difficult, is it?"

"Yeah, I don't think is bad you want that" said Karamatsu "I would also like being with you" the youngest said with a chuckle that confused the other.

"What are you laughing about? I'm being serious here…" said Osomatsu a little pissed. Karamatsu held his hand and intertwined his fingers with his.

"I like your answer, that's why I laugh, that's all" said Karamatsu with a heartful smile. "Besides, I think it's nice to think like that… I think it's weird not to imagine a future together, the six of us should stick together, right?"

"Yes… and it's something I can't explain to the teacher… she'll just make me write it again" Osomatsu explained as he squeezed his fingers lightly. The simple thought of being separated from his brothers caused him a lot of insecurity, he couldn't imagine himself being alone… he didn't want to be alone.

"Well… Oh! I have an idea, why don't you write that you want to work with me?" Karamatsu said. Osomatsu looked at him befuddled. "We could write that our dream is to open a bakery together, then you wouldn't have to write about something you don't feel… and well, if you wanted to work at my bakery I wouldn't complain, haha"

"I can do that? Oh~ that would be a great idea" said Osomatsu really liking the suggestion, he didn't like thinking about being separated from his brothers… but to think in something so simple and easy as working in a bakery with his brother gave him more security, maybe that's not what he would end up doing but it was a nice way to think of an alternative about his future which he always avoided in his mind.

"Yes, haha, let's promise we'll be together no matter what happens" said Karamatsu with a smile, Osomatsu nodded. "If you have trouble writing I can help you, if you want" As he said this, the bell announcing the end of recess went off. Osomatsu stood up and broke the hold of their hands but still helped the other up.

"Of course, I would really appreciate that" said Osomatsu as he approached the door. "By the way, thanks for talking with me about dumb stuff" Karamatsu smiled at this, he didn't think it was dumb… it had been a new experience for him to listen his brother talking like that.

"You are welcome, I appreciate you having told me all that" said Karamatsu "We can continue whenever you want, it is fun to divagate… by the way, Todomatsu never came…" Osomatsu seemed shocked to hear him.

"Ah… right, I think we never told him were we'd be…" said Osomatsu sounding somehow guilty. "Well, we can tell him on our way to the hospital… Ah! Wait, the bentos, we almost forgot…"

"Right… haha, it woudn't be nice if we left them here" said Karamatsu as he walked back to pick one of the containers, Osomatsu took the other one and went back to the door.

"Hurry! Before we are left out of the classroom!" Osomatsu exclaimed as he disappeared through the door. Karamatsu followed right behind him and both ran as fast as they could to get to the classroom before the door was closed.

 **xXxXxXx**

When they went back to the classroom, they ran into Todomatsu who was looking angrily at them, the teacher was just walking in so they couldn't explain him anything and so he would have to wait until school was over. It was a bit awkward since Todomatsu seemed to be glaring daggers at them… he sure looked mad at not having been able to find them.

The hours passed until the end of the day, Osomatsu was considering running from his youngest brother before the last class was officially over since he wasn't so happy to know Todomatsu was just waiting to yell at them.

"Hey, Karamatsu… I think we should run to the hospital… Todomatsu has been glaring at us since recess ended" said Osomatsu to Karamatsu making sure only he heard.

"What…?" Karamatsu whispered. He eyed Todomatsu, he seemed to be still angry. "I think you are right, but… Todomatsu will only be angrier if we escape right now"

"But… but…" Osomatsu wasn't happy that Karamatsu was suggesting for them to stay.

"It's better to be yelled at now than letting him vent it out at us later" said Karamatsu. Osomatsu stared at him not really appreciative of this.

"Tch…"

"Osomatsu, if you want you can go, but I'm going to talk to him right now" said Karamatsu "Besides, they'll scold us if we leave him at school and we leave… won't they?"

"Ah… well, you're right about that" said Osomatsu "Although if Choromatsu was here I'm sure he would run with me" Karamatsu squinted at him, he wasn't happy about the comparison he had just made.

"I already told you to leave, Osomatsu" said Karamatsu. Osomatsu sighed and decided to stay in his seat, it seemed he would be waiting to talk to Todomatsu as well.

A few minutes passed before the teacher sent off the class, the class left right away and left the three brothers behind. Todomatsu looked at them hatefully, he was waiting for them to start explaining but as he saw the awkward expressions on their faces, he knew he would have to bring up the subject.

"Hey, where were you two? I was looking everywhere for you guys" said Todomatsu. Karamatsu tried saying something but Osomatsu interrupted right away.

"We were at the cafeteria, we thought you would find us easily over there… but we never saw you" said Osomatsu with a smile that easily hid his lie. Karamatsu observed taken aback the way in which Osomatsu had managed to lie… he was surprised to find it incredibly credible, Osomatsu wasn't giving any sign that he had made it up… if it wasn't because Karamatsu had been with him, he would have believed him.

"Oh, really? How weird… I don't remember seeing you guys there… but well, with all the people there I guess it was impossible after all" said Todomatsu. Karamatsu wanted to add something but Osomatsu interrupted once more.

"What are you talking about? There wasn't that many people, haha, well, in my opinion it wasn't that crowded" said Osomatsu knowing his brother was trying to see Osomatsu was lying, however, Osomatsu had given him an ambiguous response that could be modified depending on what Todomatsu said afterwards.

"Ah... well, yes, there wasn't that many people, it's been more crowded…" said Todomatsu as he accepted his brother's words as the truth, meanwhile, Karamatsu wondered about the reason Osomatsu had to hide the fact they were on the rooftop from Todomatsu.

"Todomatsu… can it be you are lying?" Osomatsu asked. Todomatsu looked nervous. Karamatsu couldn't understand why Osomatsu was accusing him of lying if he was lying in the first place…

"Eh? Lying, why would I be lying?" Todomatsu asked as he contorted his face to force a smile. Osomatsu sighed in means to show he was right.

"You probably forgot you had to meet us, right?" Osomatsu asked. Todomatsu remained paralyzed by the accusation. "You probably did look around for a bit but gave up rather quickly and went to look for one of your friends, am I wrong?"

"Uhm… I…" Todomatsu murmured feeling nervous of being found out, he didn't know what to say to fix it. Osomatsu laughed after seeing how nervous he was, it seems he was right.

"Haha, I thought so, you are so easy to read" said Osomatsu "But you sure are cruel, you wanted to turn this around us even though you put no effort in looking for us, didn't you?"

"Ah… okay, okay, yes, it's true… the truth is I really didn't look for you two" said Todomatsu "But well, you still can tell me later"

"What do you mean?" Karamatsu asked while arching a brow, didn't he want to know now?

"It's just that I was invited to a friend's house, I had plans to go after school" said Todomatsu "So I'll see you later, say hi from me to everyone" the youngest said as he walked out from the classroom.

"Eh? But…" said Karamatsu as he saw him leave quickly. "Wow… that was unexpected" Karamatsu looked at Osomatsu somehow scared but admiring the way he had gotten away with it. "How come…?"

"Haha, it's a secret" said Osomatsu while offering him a playful smile, as he noticed how he was still staring without saying anything, he decided to explain for a bit. "I know you guys too well, I know when any of you is lying"

"Really…? Is it that easy to know when we are lying so that you can get away from lying at the same time…?" said Karamatsu without knowing what to think of it.

"That's right, most of the time I know what things you would do and why you do them… of course, sometimes I don't think that much and make mistakes like with Jyushimatsu… but yes, I know you all too well to know how to lie when you are lying to me" said Osomatsu happily "That really sound weird… but well, I'm not always lying, I just lie when it's necessary"

"Was it necessary to lie right now?"

"Not really… but Todomatsu wanted to play the victim, that's why I decided to lie as to reveal he was lying" said Osomatsu "I must say he is the best at it from you five"

"Although it seems you are the best from us actually…" said Karamatsu. Osomatsu took his backpack and walked away, he then turned around and called for his brother to follow him. "Osomatsu… tell me the truth, how often do you lie?"

"Not often, I only do it when it's necessary" said Osomatsu. Karamatsu didn't know if to believe him or not.

"You are so good at lying that you could be lying about not lying to me right now…" said Karamatsu making Osomatsu laugh. Both walked towards the school's entrance and left towards the hospital.

"Hey, hey, it's not like I'm always lying" said Osomatsu. Besides, I'm more honest when the others do not try to lie… if Todomatsu had been more honest then I would have been as well… maybe"

"What do you mean by 'maybe'?"

"Ah, it's just that I don't know if I would like him knowing about us going to the rooftop" said Osomatsu. Karamatsu didn't seem to understand. "I really liked talking about weird things with you, if the others knew about that place… maybe we wouldn't be able to talk like that anymore"

"But Choromatsu will go with you, right?" asked Karamatsu. Osomatsu remained thinking about it and soon shook his head lightly. "No?"

"I think that if I don't want the others to find out then it'd better be our secret" said Osomatsu. Karamatsu felt curious about Osomatsu's decision… what was he thinking?

"But… can't you make those kind of questions with the others?" Karamatsu asked making Osomatsu stop walking. He seemed to be considering what Karamatsu was saying.

"No… I don't think I can" said Osomatsu as he then noticed how Karamatsu was staring at him looking perplexed. "A few days ago I realized… that maybe it's better to keep what I think to myself, it's not always the best to exteriorize everything that goes through my mind"

"I don't see anything wrong about that"

"When I think about explaining the things going on in my mind… I think they wouldn't understand" Karamatsu looked shocked to hear that since it was too unusual… didn't he trust his brothers?

"Osomatsu, they are your brothers… why wouldn't they understand?" Karamatsu asked.

"Sometimes I think lies are more necessary than the truth… even though it may seem to be wrong" Osomatsu said now walking. "When you hide certain feelings, you can help others that can't cope with theirs"

"But then, what happens to yours? When you try to help by silencing your feelings… what happens to you?" Karamatsu asked. Osomatsu stopped looking somber to dedicate a smile to his brother.

"Haha, sometimes you have to do that when you don't want to hurt your dear ones any longer… sometimes, so, don't exaggerate… it's not like I hide my feelings all the time, I mean, you saw how I reacted with Ichimatsu and how angry I got with Jyushimatsu's incident" said Osomatsu. Karamatsu frowned, he was between angry and worried since he didn't know if his brother really meant what he was saying. "I think is apparent that I do not hide them"

"Osomatsu" Karamatsu said as he stopped him from walking by grabbing him from the shoulders, Osomatsu looked at him with curiosity. "If you are telling me all this… it's because you trust me, right?"

"Well… more than trust… how can I explain… I feel like I can tell you anything and that you won't see me differently, I don't know… to be honest, in the beginning I wasn't even planning to tell you either, but… for some reason I couldn't stop talking" said Osomatsu "I don't know…. I think you understand me in some way, it's weird, I know"

"Then… do you think you could… uhm, not hide your feelings from me?" Karamatsu asked confusing Osomatsu. "I appreciate you having shared the weird things that go on in your mind, I was surprised to listen to that since I also ask myself some of that stuff…"

"Karamatsu…" Osomatsu didn't know what to think about what his brother was saying so he chose to listen till the end.

"I don't want to think you'll keep everything you think hidden somewhere, I wouldn't be able to forgive myself for not knowing when you are tricking me with your fake smiles" said Karamatsu "I think I know in some way why you don't want to tell them… it's because you think they'll believe you are exaggerating or well… they won't take you seriously, isn't that right?"

"I…" Osomatsu had to admit that he was partly right, it hurt him that his brothers made less of his feelings and that made him feel somehow weak… of course, what he had said about hiding his feelings to not hurt others was true, with Jyushimatsu and Todomatsu he had understood that someone that balanced the mood, someone they could cry on and feel better was needed.

"I don't plan on laughing about what you think or feel… so it doesn't matter how latched on to a feeling you are, just tell me" said Karamatsu to Osomatsu who kept staring at him without knowing what to say. "I think that the worse you can do is keeping it and letting it die inside you… you need to vent as well"

"I… don't know…"

"Please, it doesn't have to be in front of the others, even if you have to take me to a high building for you to express yourself… I prefer it than seeing you pretend that everything is okay" said Karamatsu making Osomatsu laugh.

"Okay, okay, I promise" Karamatsu squinted at him. "Really, I promise to tell you if anything happens… it's just that, you have to keep it to yourself no matter what happens, okay?"

"You mean it?"

"It's turning annoying that you think I'm lying every time I say anything…" said Osomatsu before sighing. "I promise not to lie to you… unless there's someone nearby, okay? But I'm serious about me not lying all the time, it's just in determined moments…"

"Okay, I like that" said Karamatsu looking happy to believe his brother was being sincere. Karamatsu stopped holding him to then keep walking towards the hospital.

"You better keep to yourself whatever I tell you, I'm trusting in you, understand?" Osomatsu said while squinting at him. "It isn't easy for me"

"Yes, yes, I understand" said Karamatsu "Hey, I have a question… why don't you tell Choromatsu if you are always with him?" Osomatsu stared at him in disbelief, he really had to explain that?

"Karamatsu, are you serious? I think I just told you that I can only tell you, if you don't want me to I can very much not tell you" said Osomatsu finding annoying that his brother wanted him to repeat his explanations.

"Oh… no, no, it's okay, I understand" said Karamatsu "By the way… do you have any idea why Todomatsu left in such a hurry? It was very odd in my opinion"

"Ah, that's simple… he was really ashamed of being found out like that, haha" said Osomatsu "He wasn't lying about going to a friend's house but he left like that for that reason"

"I see…" said Karamatsu. Both boys walked for several minutes in complete silence, of course, until Osomatsu turned to see him with half lidded eyes.

"Hey… Karamatsu" Osomatsu called. Karamatsu turned to see him as a sign that he was listening. "If I can't lie to you… you better not lie to me, understand?"

"I thought you said you could know when we were lying…" Osomatsu shook his head.

"There's different ways of lying… yours have nothing to do with words… at least not exactly" said Osomatsu "If anything bothers you I expect you to tell me with the same honesty you are asking from me, okay?"

"Hmm… I'm not sure of what you mean, but if what you want is to be my confident then you can be it" said Karamatsu "Talking about these things… do you think Jyushimatsu has already told them what happened?"

"Knowing him… aside from the circumstances…" Osomatsu pondered "If Jyushimatsu had a moment to talk with Ichimatsu in private then I think it's possible he gave in easily… if mom and not specifically Choromatsu… but if mom remained there the whole time then I think he didn't budge"

"How good do you consider Jyushimatsu at lying?"

"Well… not good really, even if his life depended on it, he wouldn't know how to lie properly…" said Osomatsu "But, if his life depended on it then he would be capable to lie and keep quiet for a very long time… that's what worries me a little"

"Let's hope to find out what happened to him, it worries me" said Karamatsu. Osomatsu agreed with his brother. Both continued walking to the hospital, Osomatsu thought on how weird it was going to be to tell his brother his feelings… his thoughts were easy to share… but his feelings? It seems he was going to have to make a great effort to not cover them with lies like how he was beginning to do, it was true that he barely lied… he almost never lied since the idea of keeping quiet was starting to settle in his mind, but he was finding lying to be easier and easier with each passing day.

 **A/N: Finally an update, sorry guys, I've just been really inspired and kept updating the spanish one before the inspiration died x'D but I promise to be more constant with these updates from now on, I can't let the other story get too ahead of this one /cries**

 **If you have any comments or thoughts please let me know! They motivate me to keep translating since I see there are people reading the translated version x'D I write this story because it's fun and I love it but it surely motivates one when a comment appears! So anything you wish to say, (longer comments are the most loved of course) is very welcome!**


	7. Misunderstandings pt 2

**Chapter 7. Misunderstandings pt 2**

The first and second brother continued walking to the hospital, they were already close, they were walking in a silence that wasn't awkward, after such conversation, they had the idea that if they wanted to say something then they would say it and so they had nothing to worry about for a bit of no one saying anything… of course, until Karamatsu noticed something strange. The second brother stopped and looked behind him; Osomatsu turned to see him and titled his head to a side as sign of not understanding what he was doing.

"Karamatsu… hey, everything okay?" Osomatsu asked as he tried to deduce what his brother was doing, had he forgotten something? "Did you forget something? Want to go back?" he would normally feel lazy of returning all the way but at the moment he was in such a good mood, he didn't mind talking with his brother for more time.

"Osomatsu… didn't you see that?" Karamatsu asked while arching a brow confused. Osomatsu shook his head before frowning somehow lost.

"See what?"

"I thought I had seen a black figure behind us" said Karamatsu "Are you sure you didn't see anything?" Osomatsu thought for a moment but shook his head right away as he didn't know what his brother was talking about.

"No… and I don't think it's dark enough to see a shadow… well, uhm, at least not as black as the one you are describing" said Osomatsu. Karamatsu remained thinking that maybe he had seen things then.

"That's strange… well, I suppose it was nothing, let's keep walking" said Karamatsu to then resume walking to the hospital. Osomatsu followed him after nodding in agreement, it had been probably nothing. "Wow, how crazy, thinking about seeing something like that in a sunny day like this… if it was a man dressed in black then he would surely melt, haha"

"A man dressed in black?" asked Osomatsu before grinning. "Yeah, I suppose it would be uncomfortable to wander around dressed in black with this heat"

"Hmmm… although it reminds me a little to that time…" Karamatsu murmured as he remembered something. Osomatsu looked at him with curiosity.

"What thing? Have you seen a strange man dressed in black before?" Osomatsu asked. Karamatsu nodded without being sure if it had anything to do.

"It was about…" Karamatsu tried telling him about, though he quickly kept quiet, he was considering that he would be bringing bad luck to his brother. Osomatsu looked at him with half lidded eyes.

"Karamatsu… you are not hiding anything from me, right? We just agreed on you telling me everything" said Osomatsu a bit irritated with his brother who wasn't respecting what they had agreed on.

"It's not that, I just think telling you would bring you bad luck…" Karamatsu said. Osomatsu didn't seem that affected by this, he didn't mind if it brought him bad luck. The youngest looked at his brother and understood that his older brother wanted to know anyway. "Osomatsu, I mean it, it will bring you bad luck"

"Seriously? Well, I guess it's not that important" said Osomatsu while laughing. "Okay, don't tell me this time, I won't force you shower me with bad luck" Karamatsu sighed as he listened to this, at least his brother had given up. "We should just hurry getting there" the eldest ran after saying this since he could already see the hospital from the distance.

"Ah! Wait!" Karamatsu shouted as he chased after him, thing that wasn't that much of a problem since he was pretty fast, not as fast as Choromatsu but, from the six, Karamatsu was the one with the most energy and so he could keep up with his pace for a long time.

 **xXxXxXx**

Osomatsu and Karamatsu ran towards the room like if they had been racing, although, they had refrained from running inside the building and were running only after they were on Ichimatsu's room floor. Osomatsu turned the door's knob and walked in followed by Karamatsu.

"Ichimatsu, we are here!" both brothers stated. Ichimatsu, Jyushimatsu and Choromatsu looked at them surprised by the way they had entered.

"Ah, Osomatsu, Karamatsu" the three brothers said. Osomatsu approached Ichimatsu and ruffled his hair. Ichimatsu closed his eyes for the slight rough treatment.

"Ichimatsu, how are you feeling?" Osomatsu asked as he kept ruffling his hair. Ichimatsu answered once he stopped doing this.

"I'm better, my body still hurts… I'm just bored…" Ichimatsu said as he got lost in his thoughts. Osomatsu smiled slowly at this, it was a good sign after all… or at least that's what he thought.

"By the way, where's mom? Wasn't she with you guys?" Karamatsu asked.

"Oh, mom is talking with the doctor, or at least that's what she said she would do like five minutes ago" said Jyushimatsu "She said something about going to look for the doctor"

"I see…" said Karamatsu. Osomatsu walked away from Ichimatsu and instead threw himself towards Choromatsu with the intent of giving him a strong hug; of course, doing this caused both to fall to the floor.

"Choromatsu! Choromatsu!" Osomatsu called his brother while hugging him. "Are you okay now? Can we go play? I was waiting for you to feel better!"

"Osomatsu… you are heavy…" Choromatsu said from his place under his brother who was squeezing him without mercy. Osomatsu stood up along with Choromatsu who hugged him right away. "Of course I want to play, I haven't done but… anything lately" said Choromatsu as he laughed.

"Let's go explore the hospital! I'm sure it'll be interesting to take a look around" said Osomatsu "We couldn't go see before" Choromatsu considered this and nodded in agreement, he thought it was a good idea.

"Yes! Yes! Let's go!" Choromatsu replied happily, however, he remembered the conversation he have had with his other two siblings. "Wait, Osomatsu, before exploring the place, I think it's more important to talk about something"

"Huh?" Osomatsu muttered while finding odd the way his brother had changed his voice tone. "About what?" The eldest asked while still hugging his brother; actually, he already knew what they wanted to talk about but he didn't want to look so harsh bringing up the subject out of nowhere.

"It's about…" CHoromatsu tried to explain, however, Jyushimatsu interrupted him as he decided it was better for him to explain. "Jyushimatsu…?" Choromatsu looked confused at him once he had felt his hand over his shoulder, was he going to explain himself?

"Osomatsu, Karamatsu… I…" Jyushimatsu started saying, he looked embarrassed since he hadn't wanted to explain anything before… though, he had been unconscious and even if he had wanted to, Osomatsu, Karamatsu and Todomatsu had been at the school before waking up.

Osomatsu and Karamatsu waited patiently until their brother felt like speaking, he looked really shy and he was apparently having a hard time explaining what had happened. Ichimatsu observed him and decided to help him a little.

"Jyushimatsu, it's okay, don't be afraid" said Ichimatsu "Remember what we talked about" Jyushimatsu listened to this and so agreed that it was best to tell them… it's just that it was still difficult for him since he remembered the threats made by the man.

"Osomatsu… Karamatsu… eh? Wait a moment…" Jyushimatsu noticed something strange, everyone looked at him with curiosity. "Where… where is Todomatsu?" After saying this, everyone went still as they hadn't noticed their younger brother wasn't in the room… except for Osomatsu and Karamatsu who already knew he had gone to play to his friend's house.

"A friend of his invited him over to play" said Osomatsu and Karamatsu at the same time. Choromatsu, Ichimatsu and Jyushimatsu didn't seem to take it well, why? Was it a bad thing that he wasn't with them?

"What…?" The three brothers looked flustered. Karamatsu and Osomatsu didn't seem to understand. "For real…?"

"Yes, when classes were over, he just said he was going to his friend's house and left" Karamatsu explained. Osomatsu analyzed his brother's complicated expressions with a bit of worry.

"He had to choose from this day from all the others to not come…?" Ichimatsu said sounding pissed. "Stupid Todomatsu…"

"Hey, hey, what does it matter if he isn't here?" Osomatsu asked. The other three sighed. Choromatsu stared at Osomatsu clearly worried.

"It's something that concerns all of us… he needs to listen to what Jyushimatsu has to say" Choromatsu explained "It's really important"

"Is that so…? I understand that it's bothersome that he isn't here to hear the explanation but… we can tell him later, no?" Karamatsu said. The three sighed again, this time with resignations.

"Well, we don't have any other choice but to tell him later…" said Ichimatsu. "Well, you guys will have to tell him… I just don't want anything to happen" the eldest two looked surprised after hearing this.

"Huh? What are you talking about?" the eldest two asked. Ichimatsu looked at Jyushimatsu and nodded as a cue to get him to start explaining.

"It has to do with what happened to me the other day…" said Jyushimatsu "I suppose you remember that you found me in that room…"

"Yes, how could we forget?" both said "You scared us a lot…" Jyushimatsu took some a few moments to organize the words in his mid, his older brothers waited while questioning why that had to do with Todomatsu needing to be in the room.

"After arguing with you, Osomatsu, I ended up entering that room… I was planning to hide, I didn't want to see you for a while" said Jyushimatsu. Osomatsu gulped after remembering that. "Of course, in the end I fell asleep"

"Jyushimatsu…" Karamatsu murmured as he couldn't understand. How was he able to fall asleep like that? Jyushimatsu chuckled nervously as he remembered; he was embarrassed about that part.

"When I woke up… the room was incredibly dark, so dark that I couldn't see anything… I was confused, disoriented and scared…" Jyushimatsu explained as he felt shivers for the memory. "The most difficult thing in that situation was managing to move, it was to decide leaving that place… though, I wish that could have been the entire problem…"

Osomatsu and Karamatsu listened intently to Jyushimatsu's story, it was apparent that he was having difficulty repeating it, it looked like a frightening experience, something none of them would have liked happening to them… a situation in which they wouldn't know what to do. As he was telling the story and sharing his experience with the criminal, Osomatsu couldn't help feeling really mortified. All that happened to his younger brother? It was painful for Osomatsu to realize he hadn't known about his brother having been shot, what if it had pierced his leg? What about the threats? Jyushimatsu thought on keeping all that to himself…? Many other questions popped in his mind while the story reached its end.

"Jyushimatsu… you thought on hiding all that…?" Osomatsu asked. Jyushimatsu looked away without wanting to reply, he just didn't have a choice… or at least that's what he thought before talking with Ichimatsu. Osomatsu observed this and held his arm right away; he wanted to see the mark he was talking about, indeed, it was an ugly mark that reaffirmed the fact of his brother going through an awful event. "And this mark… do you know anything about this? Did you get it checked?"

"Huh? No, I can't…" Jyushimatsu murmured "I hid it from the doctor when I was being checked" Osomatsu frowned in response. He hid it?

"Jyushimatsu, we don't know what he injected you… you can't just do as if nothing happened, you have to have it checked" said Osomatsu.

"What? But…" Jyushimatsu tried saying something but Osomatsu interrupted.

"Mom and dad know? This is… This…" Osomatsu asked and remained trying to express his concern, however, when Choromatsu placed a hand over his shoulder in an attempt to calm him down… Osomatsu went silent. What was he doing? He had just told Karamatsu that it was better to sometimes hide some feelings to not hurt others and that was what he was doing right at the moment, Jyushimatsu didn't need Osomatsu acting like that, nobody wanted to put up with Osomatsu losing his cool.

"Osomatsu, we can't tell our parents… one thing is that Jyushimatsu told us since not telling us represents a greater danger… but, if dad or mom know then the criminal might find about it, in fact, they could get hurt" said Ichimatsu "As long as they don't know then we should be okay…"

"I see… then, what will we do? We can't just leave that mark like that" said Osomatsu as he tried relaxing, he was actually feeling frustrated for his brother not seeing the doctor but, he had a valid point.

"I was thinking and… do you guys think Yowai-kun can help us?" Choromatsu suggested, everyone looked at him somehow confused.

"Yowai-kun? Oh, you mean Totoko-chan's older brother?" Osomatsu said "But…. Didn't you say we couldn't tell anyone?"

"We can omit many details and just ask him to take us to another doctor… it's so that the doctor tells him as a responsible figure about Jyushimatsu" said Choromatsu "If we go by ourselves, we are going to be asked for our parents… we need someone we can trust to go with us"

"But… Choromatsu, How are you so sure that Yowai-kun won't tell our parents?" Jyushimatsu asked not so sure about that idea. "I don't mind not going to the doctor, I'm sure nothing will happen… I don't want to involve more people in this" Karamatsu noticed how Osomatsu was holding in his anger so he tried persuading him for him not to do that, he understood his brother's reasons but Jyushimatsu was being really inconsiderate to himself.

"Jyushimatsu…" Osomatsu muttered as he noticed Karamatsu was nodding towards him, what was he doing? Was he trying to say that it was fine to yell at him? Well, it was true that Jyushimatsu was being an idiot with himself so it was probably fine to yell at him. "We don't know what he injected you, it's not okay to assume it was nothing, you have to be checked even if you think it's unnecessary"

"But… what if Yowai-kun's family is persecuted for helping me?" Jyushimatsu asked. Osomatsu shook his head.

"Yowai-kun will only help us to take you to a doctor, we'll make him keep it secret, he will keep it a secret if he knows he'll be in danger if he speaks… if he knows his family would be in danger, I doubt he would say anything" explained Osomatsu.

"Hmm… sounds reasonable, Yowai-kun will surely help us keep the secret and will also help us know what the injection was, Jyushimatsu" said Ichimatsu. Jyushimatsu was still nervous while considering this; however, by seeing the certainty on his brother's faces, he finally smiled and nodded in agreement.

"Okay, we'll tell Yowai-kun… but, do you guys know if he is in the city? Isn't he almost often away for boxing tournaments?" Jyushimatsu asked.

"Oh, it's true… well, we can ask Totoko-chan about that…" said Karamatsu "She must know when he'll come back, right?"

"Yeah, you are right about that, Totoko-chan should know…" said Choromatsu as he was startled by the door suddenly opening showing his mom. The rest looked at her with surprise but managed to smile soon after.

"How are you kids doing? I spoke with the doctor, he said…" Matsuyo said before noticing there were more of her sons in the room. "Oh, Todomatsu, Karamatsu, Osomatsu, I'm happy to see you back from school"

"Huh? Mom, Todomatsu isn't here" all of the kids said.

"There's only Karamatsu and Osomatsu, mom" said Ichimatsu as he watched his mother looking slightly upset, yeah, it happened almost always when she got them wrong.

"I understand, where's your brother then?" Matsuyo asked with sincere curiosity.

"A friend of his invited him over to play" both Karamatsu and Osomatsu said. "He left once school was over" Matsuyo smiled at this, she really liked hearing her son was playing with someone that wasn't his brothers for a change.

"I see… I hope he gets home early… although, if he wants to stay at his friend's home and have a sleepover, it'd be okay" said Matsuyo very happy about this. "Though well, boys, I asked the doctor about Ichimatsu's stay in the hospital" Ichimatsu looked at her with expectation, would he be able to go home already?

"When? When?" Ichimatsu asked. Matsuyo looked at him with slight sadness in her expression, thing that made Ichimatsu stare puzzled at her. "Mom…?"

"Oh my dear son… the doctor informed me that you'll be here for another week… you'll be able to return home after that but you won't be able to do much physical effort" explained Matsuyo looking sad for her son. Ichimatsu stared scared at her, another week…? He would have to stay for another week…?

"But… but… I've been here for almost a week… and I have to stay another week…?" Ichimatsu asked his mom. Matsuyo couldn't say anything; she knew how torturous it was for one of her sons to stay in bed for so long. "But… but… I'm not in that much pain, my body barely hurts; I don't have to stay here!"

"Ichimatsu, we both know that's not true…" said Jyushimatsu as he remembered how his brother could barely stand when he had thrown him before. Ichimatsu looked at him pretty hurt; he knew he was in a deplorable condition but it was highly frustrating to not be able to move much.

"It's just… I don't… I don't want to be here…" said Ichimatsu as he looked at his legs, he could feel tears forming in his eyes, to just think how bored he would be… was enough to make him want to cry. Matsuyo approached his son and hugged him to help him calm down, he wasn't crying yet but he looked about to.

"Ichimatsu… I'll come see you every day; I will also bring you things so you can distract yourself, okay? You'll be able to come back home with your brothers afterwards" said Matsuyo. Choromatsu, Jyushimatsu, Osomatsu and Karamatsu looked at each other.

"We'll come see you as well, Ichimatsu, we can imagine how horrible it must be to stay here so we won't let you get bored on your own" said all of them at the same time. Ichimatsu appeared to calm down after hearing that, he thought that his brothers wouldn't come see him after they got bored from visiting him… but listening to them saying that made him feel better.

"Okay… thanks" said Ichimatsu with a smile, though, he still looked at his mother searching for answers. "Mom… didn't the doctor explain the reason for me having to stay here?"

"It's because of your injuries, son, you had lots of deep cuts… you have many wounds that need time to heal" his mom explained without wanting to go too deep into detail of what the doctor had said, it was really painful for her to repeat it. Ichimatsu seemed to understand; it was true his body hurt a lot… apparently, they had been really optimistic to believe he would be able to leave the hospital soon.

"I understand… okay… I'll hang in there a bit longer" said Ichimatsu. Matsuyo kissed his forehead and smiled at him after hearing him.

"That's my son… I promise to make you meals that you like when you come back, okay?" Matsuyo said as a way to motivate her son. Ichimatsu grinned after hearing this.

"Really?" Ichimatsu asked pretty content. Matsuyo nodded and hugged him tenderly as to not hurt him. The rest observed this and smiled happy to see Ichimatsu looking better and of course, that their mother had comforted him like that, since… they didn't like seeing one of them suffering.

"Soon afterwards, Matsuyo and her kids had to leave since the nurses needed to treat Ichimatsu, they needed to leave as to give them space. Osomatsu walked towards one of the windows on the hall and stared at it lost in thought, Karamatsu soon approached him and remained looking at the window in the same way his brother was doing.

"Osomatsu…" Karamatsu murmured as he reaffirmed his mother and his other brothers were at a considerable distance from them since he didn't want them hearing to his conversation with Osomatsu. "I know how you feel, but… there are some times when you can't help it, don't think it'll always be wrong"

"Huh…?" Osomatsu looked at Karamatsu after hearing him speak. "I don't…"

"Osomatsu, you promised" said Karamatsu. Osomatsu dropped his smile after hearing these words, yeah, it was true, he had promised to be honest with Karamatsu. "Don't force yourself to shut your feelings, you don't have to"

"Karamatsu, that's not it, it's more that this time I felt so much anger and wanted to yell at Jyushimatsu" said Osomatsu. "Jyushimatsu doesn't need that, not after what happened"

"Maybe not…. And I think you did well in keeping your cool, but you have to admit he was really being inconsiderate with himself" said Karamatsu "I wouldn't have blamed you for yelling at him"

"I don't know… I was just scared of losing it, because I didn't think he needed it and because I didn't feel like I had the right to say anything" said Osomatsu. Karamatsu arched a brow at this.

"What? Why wouldn't you have a right to get mad?"

"What happened to Jyushimatsu… was my fault, wasn't it? If I hadn't made a mistake…. Then…" Osomatsu was clenching his fists as he blamed himself, he felt responsible for his brother's incident.

"Osomatsu, it's inevitable for us to make mistakes, it's impossible not to make them" said Karamatsu "It was indeed pretty silly of you to laugh at him, but, it's not like you made Jyushimatsu hide in that room or put him to sleep"

"Yeah but… even so…" Osomatsu tried to explain his conflictive feelings. Karamatsu observed how his brother was still dealing with the blame; he couldn't help but hug him. "Huh? Wait, Karamatsu… if they see you they are going to ask…."

"Osomatsu, you have all the right to get angry, aside from what happened… you are his older brother, am I wrong?" said Karamatsu as he then released him from the hug. "You may think your feelings are a burden to him but many times is the opposite, we appreciate others worrying about us even if it comes in the form of anger"

"Karamatsu…"

"And, think about it, how do you think Jyushimatsu would feel if you acted like you didn't care? I think that would be much worse than showing your concern" said Karamatsu. Osomatsu reflected on his words.

"Yes… I suppose you are right, it would be more stupid from me to appear as if I didn't care… but, I…" Osomatsu murmured, he felt bad about dealing with that intense feeling; he didn't want to overwhelm Karamatsu.

"If you are that worried, why don't you apologize? Don't apologize for how the situation turned out since that's not your fault, but apologize for laughing" said Karamatsu "I know you think everything was your fault but I'm sure that you'll feel better after you apologize"

"I understand… okay… I'll do that, thanks, Karamatsu" said Osomatsu with a smile. Karamatsu stared at him with half lidded eyes, he wasn't convinced by his expression.

"Osomatsu…" Osomatsu looked at him truly confused, why was he staring at him like that? Though, he soon realized. "Hey! It's not like my smiles have hidden meaning or anything"

"Are you sure you are okay? I don't mind if you need to vent or something… I just don't want you thinking you are a bother" said Karamatsu. Osomatsu looked at him while frowning, though he was more worried than angry.

"Hey… I promised to be honest with you, didn't I? If your explanation was useless I would say so" said Osomatsu.

"So you really are better now? You stopped blaming yourself?" Karamatsu asked, he was waiting for a genuine answer from his brother. Osomatsu laughed at the question.

"Karamatsu, I'm fine now, really" said Osomatsu "I still blame myself a little and I still feel bad about what happened but I'll apologize to Jyushimatsu, it's the least I can do… and well, I can't be feeling down forever, I just need to be more alert next time"

As they talked, Choromatsu approached them really curious of what they were talking about, though he wanted to go explore the hospital with Osomatsu as he had suggested before.

"Osomatsu, Karamatsu! What are you talking about?" Choromatsu asked with a smile, Jyushimatsu was beside his mother waiting patiently for the nurses to come out and return to his brother's room.

"Hmm?" both boys murmured as they saw Choromatsu. Osomatsu smiled at the question and decided to lie to him.

"We were talking about how Todomatsu tried lying to us about something and left really embarrassed" said Osomatsu while thinking that it wasn't so bad to omit the real answer, what he had said was true after all… he just wasn't answering his question. "He was so saved by his friend's invitation"

"Really? Wow, I'm still surprised that Todomatsu tries lying to you, you're so good knowing who lies" said Choromatsu. Karamatsu stared at Osomatsu looking disturbed, how could he act so natural? It hadn't been a lie, but… how could he give another answer without showing any sign of nervousness? He was indeed worried that his brother lied to him with the same shamelessness one of these days.

"Yeah, none of you can match me" said Osomatsu as he rubbed under his nose with his index finger as a sign of pride. Choromatsu simply laughed, Osomatsu just looked at Karamatsu with the same expression… but as he saw Karamatsu not returning the gesture, he couldn't help but drop his prideful appearance to one resembling his brother's, it's just… why was his brother looking at him with sadness?

"Anyway, Osomatsu, Karamatsu! Let's go explore the hospital!" Choromatsu stated. Osomatsu turned happy once more as he heard him whereas Karamatsu only gave him a tiny, forced smile in response.

"I don't think so… I rather stay with Jyushimatsu and mom" said Karamatsu "Go have fun" as he said this, Choromatsu nodded and took Osomatsu by the hand intending to follow with the plan.

"Okay, we'll come back in a while, haha" said Choromatsu really happy, Osomatsu looked at Karamatsu really puzzled, he couldn't understand why Karamatsu was like this, had he said something wrong? Though he couldn't think about it that much since Choromatsu pulled him along… was he still worried about him blaming himself? If that was it, Osomatsu wasn't worried, he knew he would eventually let it pass since he was indeed feeling better already.

"Where do you want to go first?" Osomatsu asked Choromatsu who looked content for starting the tour.

"Oh! Let's go see the babies!" said Choromatsu. Osomatsu smiled at the idea. Choromatsu looked ready to run though, Osomatsu didn't let him. "Osomatsu?"

"Choromatsu, we can't run here, it's dangerous" said Osomatsu "Even if I want to run, I think it's not okay" Choromatsu wasn't so pleased with that explanation but he knew his brother was right.

"Okay, let's walk then" said Choromatsu. Osomatsu nodded and decided, to finally, follow his brother. They soon realized it had been a wise decision not to run as the hospital had suddenly turned frantic… or at least that's what they saw as the nurses and doctors walked by in a hurry, they had needed to dodge some of them while walking to their destination.

They took a while in leaving the chaos behind but they finally reached an empty hallway after using the elevator to go to the baby area. Osomatsu leaned against the wall and sighed relieved of having escaped all of that.

"Wow, we managed to escape… haha, and to think I almost lost you back there" said Osomatsu to his worried who looked concerned at him.

"Osomatsu… is something wrong?" Choromatsu asked. Osomatsu looked at him with curiosity as he waited for him to continue. "It's just that you are really quiet"

"Huh? Quiet? Well, it's not like we could talk when we were dodging people" said Osomatsu. Choromatsu didn't look convinced with that explanation.

"I don't know, I feel you're being weird… is it because of Jyushimatsu?" Choromatsu asked while they were looking for the nursery, Osomatsu turned to see him intrigued by that supposition, could it be that everyone could tell he was hiding something? Or could it be that he really didn't know how to hide his feelings? Well, it was true that he was just trying days before so it's not like he knew how to dominate it yet… it seemed to be easier to lie and it looked like something he would manage to master quickly, but, trying to have a perfect appearance to not allow anyone to suspect him would take some time… though, he shouldn't really be surprised about his brother noticing, they played together all the time after all.

"What do you mean?" Osomatsu asked. He was trying to come up with a good lie depending on his brother's doubt…though if possible, he would try being honest, he didn't want to lie all the time, so… he had to answer.

"You'll see that we can take him to be checked, I'm sure Yowai-kun will agree to it" said Choromatsu with a smile. "You know, I was surprised that Jyushimatsu told us in the end, I woke up in the middle of the night and noticed he couldn't sleep… I was worried he was hiding something like that…"

"Huh…?" Osomatsu was a bit confused since Choromatsu hadn't made any question… he was apparently affirming that his brother was worried about that part… it wasn't all that bothered him but he had to admit that he did worry when thinking on what the man could have injected Jyushimatsu.

"I'm glad that Ichimatsu convinced him to speak, it's not okay for him to keep those things to himself…since… don't you think we can solve things together?" Choromatsu asked Osomatsu while looking optimistic. "I'm sure that if we run into that man we can beat him… just like when we helped Ichimatsu when that man was kicking him"

"I hope we never run into him… I wouldn't like seeing Jyushimatsu scared again" said Osomatsu as he remembered Jyushimatsu in that room. "And that man that hurt Ichimatsu… I hope he never appears again"

"And even if he did, we promised not leaving Ichimatsu by his own, he won't be able to take more than one of us at the same time" said Choromatsu as he then saw the nursery coming into view. The third brother ran and remained glued to the glass. "Wow… look at how many babies there are!"

"Hmm?" Osomatsu approached him and looked through the glass to gaze at all the babies. "It's true, there are many"

"Haha, it's so strange seeing so many babies" said Choromatsu as he looked intently at them, he was laughing happily; seeing them gave him a nice feeling.

"And to think we were once in this same place" said Osomatsu "It must have been scary…" Choromatsu looked at him somehow confused, scary? Why?

"Huh? Why scary? Don't you like babies?" Or… are you saying it'd be weird to be among so many babies?" Choromatsu asked as he tried to understand his brother's comment.

"I don't know… I think that waking up in a room where you know no one must be really awful… or well, seeing people that are not your mom caring for you" said Osomatsu as he got lost in his imagination. Choromatsu didn't seem to get what he was explaining. "Not mentioning that you only hear the cries and wails of others you don't recognize…"

"Osomatsu…?" Choromatsu looked at him somehow lost "Hey…"

"When it comes to us… can you imagine being in a space separated from your brothers? It's weird even now to be apart from each other… how horrible must it have been to hear the cries and wails of your siblings without being able to see them or reach out to them…?" Osomatsu said while making a sorrow filled expression. Choromatsu was staring at him with the same expression, though, personally, he was worried about his brother.

"Osomatsu, what are you talking about? Hey, are you okay?" Choromatsu took his hand trying to verify if his brother was fine, Osomatsu snapped back to his senses and instead stared at the babies.

"Ah…?" Osomatsu murmured as he turned to see his brother frowning at him, he seemed worried. "What…?"

"You were saying strange things you know…" said Choromatsu as he wondered if Osomatsu had anything, it wasn't normal for him to say such things. Osomatsu stared at him without saying anything for a few seconds, he then smiled.

"Hahaha, sorry, I was just repeating something I saw on TV" said Osomatsu automatically after seeing how his brother was staring at him, in his case, Osomatsu felt embarrassed since he had allowed his thoughts flow freely once more… just that, Choromatsu looked more about to tell his mother and siblings about his behavior… had it been so weird? What he had said was that strange? That was the first thing that he could think of when seeing the place they were in, but… maybe Choromatsu didn't think on the same things as he did? He probably had scared him for making a comment so out of place like that one…

"On TV…?" Choromatsu stared at him expressionless, he then smiled and laughed. "Osomatsu, were you watching another odd movie again? You seriously worried me"

"Haha, yeah, sorry, I remembered while looking at the babies" said Osomatsu with a smile and a fake laugh, were his questions and thoughts so bad? Osomatsu wondered if Karamatsu would say the same as Choromatsu, it's just… nobody wondered about those kind of things? It's true that the idea just came up when staring at the babies, but… was it only natural for him to think like that?

"What kind of weird movie was that?" Choromatsu asked "Was it a documental about babies or something? I didn't know you watched boring stuff like that" Osomatsu wasn't pleased about hearing his brother call 'boring' to his way of thinking. He didn't want to continue the subject anyway, just, he was curious to know what his brother was thinking instead, he wanted to know how different they could think, or well, he only wanted to know what he came up with.

"Choromatsu… hey… what do you think when you see this place?" Osomatsu asked. Choromatsu stared really baffled. What did he think? The third brother squinted at him expressing his uncertainty about his brother's intentions for asking that.

"Huh? What do you mean with that?" Choromatsu asked "Are you asking if I like this place? What I think of the place or something like that?" It was now Osomatsu's turn to look puzzled, why was his question so confusing to him?

"Ehm, yeah, I suppose… what do you think when you look at all those babies?" Osomatsu asked his brother who went quiet as he thought on what to reply, Choromatsu wasn't sure of his intentions but he figured that he was asking because of what he had watched on TV.

"I think about, How do they take care of the babies? How delicate do they have to be with a newborn? When will they be able to leave this place and meet their parents? I think about how it is nice to have a clean and well prepared area like this one… I also think about how cute the babies are, haha" said Choromatsu. "Is that what you were asking?"

"Oh, I see…" Osomatsu listened to his brother's answer really interested, it was pretty different to what he could come up with but he thought it was valid as well… for some reason, when he saw the room with the babies, he thought that it wasn't really the best place in the world, but… he appreciated knowing what his brother thought about it, even if he couldn't share his weird perspectives like with his other brother. "Yes, and well, I suppose it is nice seeing them"

"Yeah, I really like watching them… although, you know… the things you said, I wonder… how was it for us when we were here? Was everybody surprised? Were they gazing at us in awe?" said Choromatsu.

"Probably, it's not like you can see six identical babies everyday" said Osomatsu "Although, I wonder if we had any differences then… although, maybe not since it would be harder, wouldn't it…"

"Do you think Karamatsu had his thick eyebrows even as a baby?" Choromatsu asked while looking at Osomatsu and sharing a moment of silence… though, they cracked up soon didn't understand how Choromatsu wasn't making the same questions as him, but, he had to admit his questions were good… not mentioning that he really wanted to know if his brother had been born with thicker eyebrows than there rest.

Once they calmed down, both kids kept looking at the babies for a while longer, this until Choromatsu suggested continuing the tour around the hospital. Osomatsu nodded in agreement and followed his brother around. Both kids took the elevator and exploring the floors to other floors, observing their surroundings.

"Ah… Osomatsu, I think we should go back, I think we did enough exploring" said Choromatsu to his brother who shared his annoyed expressions. "Also, we already got scolded several times for wandering like this…"

"Yeah, I think that's the best… I don't really mind being scolded but… don't you think the medicine like odor is bothersome?" said Osomatsu.

"Yeah, know that you mention it, it's really turning really gross… let's go back" said Choromatsu wanting to go back, however, Osomatsu observed how on a hallway they had come from, which was dark and empty, a blue light emanated mysteriously.

"Choromatsu… what is that?" Osomatsu asked as he pointed towards the hallway, referring to the light that could be seen on the wall. Choromatsu watched this intrigued.

"Do you want to see what it is?"

"Yes, yes, let's go and see" said Osomatsu as he approached the hallway alongside his brother. Both kids peeked cautiously and noticed how the wall was forming a portal… which right away showed how a leg came out of it. The brothers stood paralyzed as they saw this, what the…? Osomatsu was speechless, and just when he was about to say something, Choromatsu took him by the hand and started running away incredibly spooked; he didn't know what it was or what it meant, he only knew he had to escape with his brother. "Choromatsu! What do you think was that?!" Osomatsu asked as he ran beside his brother.

"I don't know! Shut up and run!" Choromatsu shouted as he then noticed how their surroundings shifted colors to appear monochromatic. The boys didn't stop running until a figure appeared in front of them.

"Choromatsu…" murmured Osomatsu as he stared shocked at the figure in front of him. Choromatsu shook his head as he didn't know what was happening, they both stared at the figure and stepped back a little with the intention of running away again; though, as they saw how the shadow before them took the shape of a man, both stared confused.

"Uhm, who are you…?" Both Choromatsu and Osomatsu asked. They had decided not to run as they felt more curious on who that was. The man smiled and bowed while taking off his hat.

"Nice to meet you, I'm a Shinigami" said the man. The kids weren't satisfied with the answer though. "I came here to take you with me" he simply said.

"Huh? What do you mean?" both asked in unison.

"I realized that your life span is coming to an end, therefore, I've been sent to take you with me to the other side" said the man as he approached the boys to take Choromatsu by the arm.

"Eh?!" Both exclaimed. The man started pulling Choromatsu away against his will withough any other explanation.

"Hey! Let me go!" Choromatsu yelled while Osomatsu tried pulling his brother as to keep the man from taking Choromatsu with him. "I don't want to die so leave me alone!" Choromatsu was finding the situation really familiar but he couldn't think more about it since he was more focused on struggling away from the man.

"What are you talking about? There's little time before your death, Osomatsu, we need to leave now" said the Shinigame to the boy who kept resisting. Osomatsu stopped tugging to then stared befuddled at the man, did he hear right? He had said he was about to die… why…?

"I'm not Osomatsu!" was the first thing that Choromatsu yelled while being taken away against his wished. As he heard this, the Shinigami released him. Choromatsu stared at him confused, why did he look like he was about to have a heart attack?

"Oh wow! I almost make a horrible mistake!" The man stated while looking nervous. "If I take someone that isn't supposed to die soon, I'll anger the others…."

"A Shinigami came for me…?" Osomatsu wondered while looking perplexed by this, he wasn't nervous or scared… just confused. Choromatsu looked at Osomatsu and as he heard these words, he remembered.

"Wait a second…" Choromatsu murmured as he saw the man still panicking. "Aren't you the man that came long ago to take Osomatsu away?" Osomatsu looked at Choromatsu while looking for an explanation.

"Oh! I see that you remember" said the man. "Yes, that's right, I came previously to take Osomatsu with me"

"Choromatsu…. What are you talking about?" Osomatsu asked as he didn't understand what he was saying, that man had come before…? Seriously…?

"You are the one who almost causes Osomatsu to die!" Choromatsu shouted really angry before looking at his brother. "This guy had an alliance with Iyami, they were about to kill you!"

"Well…. Something like that… I don't remember anything like that, but, come on Osomatsu, it's time for you to come with me" The Shinigami offered his hand to Osomatsu. Osomatsu kept staring without understanding.

"No! No! Go away! Osomatsu won't die!" Choromatsu yelled as he stood in front of his brother. Choromatsu took Osomatsu's hand and made him hide behind him.

"Huh? Choromatsu…" Osomatsu murmured while wondering if that was the same figure Karamatsu had seen before.

"Come on Osomatsu, come now, they're waiting" said the Shinigami as he kept offering him his hand. Choromatsu, however, was glaring at him, he couldn't forget how the man had tried stealing away his life when he was so weak.

"Osomatsu won't go with you! I won't allow you to take him away!" Choromatsu yelled still holding his brother's hand. Osomatsu kept being lost in thought, but, as he heard his brother, he managed to snap out of it.

"Hey, Sir… are you really a Shinigami?" Osomatsu asked in a tone of voice that contrasted that of Choromatsu's who was really upset. Choromatsu was shocked to hear his brother's calm voice asking that.

"That's right, I'm a Shinigami" said the man who kept offering his hand to the kid so he could reach out to it.

"And… is it true that I'm close to dying…?" as Osomatsu asked, Choromatsu felt a piercing pain in his heart… how could he ask that so casually? Why was he so composed? The Shinigami looked at him in silence, as he listened to that question full of sincere curiosity, he couldn't help but answer truthfully.

"You actually have a few more years of life" said the Shinigami. Choromatsu frowned at this, how dare he?!

"And you are thinking of taking Osomatsu away even after knowing that?! You can't be killing people just because you feel like it!" Choromatsu yelled really angry. "I won't let you kill my brother!"

"They sent me to take you away and if I do they'll raise my pay" said the Shinigami, not helping to Choromatsu's anger. "They told me it was best to take you away now" Osomatsu remained contemplative and looked crestfallen, however, he was just thinking about what he was saying.

"I don't understand, sir… I'm trying to understand why it's better for me to die now… but even if I consider it, I can't really accept it…" said Osomatsu sounding really confused. Choromatsu couldn't believe what he was hearing… his brother was considering it? What…?

"O-Osomatsu…?" Choromatsu murmured really worried as he looked at his brother from the corner of his eye.

"Tell me… why is it better for me to die now…?" Osomatsu asked the man who moved away his hand after hearing him. "If I have more years of life… Why should I leave? Why should I not live?"

"Osomatsu… stop, you don't have to die, this man is crazy" said Choromatsu, however, Osomatsu still wanted to know the reason.

"Is there a reason…?" Osomatsu asked. The man seemed to have lost his funny semblance and was now walking towards them; he didn't seem to have the intention to explain anything.

"Come, Osomatsu, it's getting late" said the man as he approached them. Choromatsu looked at him nervously as he came closer and decided to run away with Osomatsu, he turned around and ran away as fast as he could while pulling him older brother with him.

"No! Get lost! Leave us alone!" Choromatsu yelled as he ran, neverminding if the man was listening or not. Osomatsu ran alongside him but instead of looking scared he just looked confused and that really got on Choromatsu's nerves. Why was his brother reacting like that? Why wasn't he scared? Why wasn't he getting angry for someone trying to take his life away? Did he not mind…?

Choromatsu ran with Osomatsu to an elevator, as weird as it was… the monochromatic surroundings had just vanished the people in the place, it didn't seem to be affecting time so it was like they were in another dimension and so they were able to use the elevator without problems. The brothers went up two floors and then ran to another elevator with the intention of not letting the man see to where they were headed. They entered another one that was at the end of the hall, the youngest one pushed the button leading to the rooftop, he wanted to hide there and wait for the man to not find them.

Osomatsu looked lost in a trance again since he was questioning over and over the man's intentions, on his part, Choromatsu felt the adrenaline run through his body, he was afraid to be separated from his brother and was scared for his life; after having pushed the button, he had hugged Osomatsu as a way to protect him in case he had planned doing anything to them in the elevator.

Fortunately, they arrived at the rooftop with ease and Choromatsu had managed to pull Osomatsu with him after deciding where to hide, they didn't really many options and time was running out so they had hid behind the room from which they had exited. Choromatsu was sitting down aside of his brother; he had taken Osomatsu's hand with fear of losing him the moment he got distracted.

"Choromatsu… are you okay?" Osomatsu asked, seriously pissing him off.

"Are you okay? You haven't stopped saying weird things!" Osomatsu said accusatorily. "What's the matter with you…? Why aren't you reacting…? Why are you behaving so odd…?"

"I… it's just… I don't know what to think… I know I should be afraid but…" Osomatsu said sounding insecure. "I can't help feel curiosity for the Shinigami's presence and the fact he is saying those things"

"What…? Osomatsu… How can you feel curiosity when your life is in danger? That's not right! You are crazy!" said Choromatsu while looking at him with anguish and frustration. Osomatsu felt sad as he listened, he knew his curiosity wasn't normal… but… he just couldn't do anything about it…

"But, it's just… don't you think the Shinigami is here for a reason? Don't you think it has meaning?" Osomatsu asked. Choromatsu stared coldly at him.

"No, it doesn't mean anything… it's just some madman trying to kill you! That time you were dying for the fever… that jerk played dirty!" Choromatsu said as he remembered. "You can't take this lightly!" Osomatsu squinted at him as he found what he didn't like what Choromatsu was saying.

"I'm sure Karamatsu would understand" said Osomatsu as he pouted making Choromatsu stare at him perplexed… what does that had anything to do…?

"Osomatsu, that has nothing to do, why are you mentioning Karamatsu…? If you say he would accept you thinking when you have to run then you are wrong" said Choromatsu while frowning annoyed. "Karamatsu is really weird… but I'm sure he would do the same as me… and that is… not letting you be killed"

"How do you know that? You're not Karamatsu! I understand he would try to protect me… but I don't think he would think it is bad for me to consider these things!" said Osomatsu somehow angry, though, as he said this, Choromatsu punched him. "Hey…!"

"I know because he is my brother, we are your brothers" said Choromatsu. Osomatsu kept staring angrily without thinking he was right. "It doesn't matter if you two think alike, Osomatsu…. None of us would accept you considering dying!" As he said this, Osomatsu looked at him surprised; okay… he didn't expect him to say that…

"Choromatsu…" Osomatsu murmured as he saw how his brother was really hurt for him thinking like that… well, it's not like Osomatsu really wanted to die, he was just contemplating the possibility… he wasn't thinking on doing it, it was obvious he wouldn't. "I'm not…"

"Do you really think it is normal for you to think like that? Do you really think you can say that's fine with you? What about us…? Do you not mind leaving us…?" Choromatsu said while looking sad at him. Osomatsu shook his head and stared at him angry.

"No! Choromatsu, of course you all matter to me! I just meant to say that I'm curious about the Shinigami coming for me, I never meant to say I would leave or that I didn't mind!"

"Then why were you considering it..?" Choromatsu asked.

"It's just because I'm curious! I don't want to die!" Osomatsu said without understanding his brother. "Don't worry if I say strange things, you just have to know that I don't want to die"

"I see… okay, I believe you" said Choromatsu with a smile "Even though I'm still angry, I believe you" as he said this, the man from before appeared near them. Choromatsu stared shocked at him and stood defensively in attempt to hide Osomatsu. "How did you find us?!"

"It wasn't that hard, I can appear wherever I want… and honestly, you aren't really creative with your hideouts" said the man. "Let's go, Osomatsu" Choromatsu seemed to be killing him with his glare while Osomatsu still wanted to know the reason he wanted to take him waway.

"But Sir… why…?" Osomatsu asked. Choromatsu wasn't happy to hear Osomatsu asking the same again but he supposed his brother wouldn't be satisfied until the man answered him.

"I already explained, if I take you my pay will be raised!" said the man with a funny tone. Osomatsu shook his head not wanting to accept that answer.

"No… I don't think it's because of that, you're lying to me" said Osomatsu making the man go silent. "There's a reason for this, isn't it?"

"Osomatsu… stop, I know you want to know, but you're making him angry" said Choromatsu to Osomatsu. He respected him wanting to know, he didn't understand and didn't find it relevant but if his brother wanted to know then he would need to respect it.

As he heard this, Osomatsu decided that it was indeed the best to keep silent just as Choromatsu said since the man didn't look happy. Choromatsu squeezed his brother's hand nervously as he didn't know what more to do in this situation, he didn't know what to do to protect his brother. Osomatsu leaned against his brother and nodded trying to tell him that he had agreed on not saying anything else.

"Why do I want to take you sooner…? That's because…" said the man as he killed his own sentence, he didn't seem to want to finish what he was saying… in fact, instead of that, he had snapped his fingers leaving Choromatsu really puzzled.

"Huh…?" Choromatsu murmured as he saw the action, why had he done that…? As he thought about this, he noticed how the body weight behind him had fallen against him and how his brother's grip weakened. "O-Osomatsu…?"

"Ah, how troublesome, at least I'm done with what I had to do here" said the man confusing Choromatsu, what did he mean?

"Osomatsu…?" Choromatsu turned around to hold his brother, as he hugged his body and saw how his head hung in an awkward position, he couldn't help but feel scared. "Osomatsu…? Hey… hey… don't joke…. It's not funny! Move! Osomatsu! I'll get angry if you don't answer! Osomatsu!" The youngest started sobbing as he realized his brother wasn't going to move.

After a few moments, Choromatsu turned to see the man who was about to leave, he frowned and stared hatefully at him. Why had he taken Osomatsu if he still had more years of life? Was it fun for him to make people suffer?

"Why…?" Choromatsu asked the man who stopped right after hearing him. "Why did you do this…? How dare you…?"

"Why? That's easy, I am 'Death' after all, I can decide to take someone away if I see it's the best" said the man. Choromatsu kept sobbing as he held Osomatsu's body in his arms, he was trying to remain composed as to be able to make him questions, he needed to know the reasons… and wow, he now seemed to be acting like Osomatsu, but… after having his brother dead in his arms, how would he not mind the reason of him being taken away?

"Then… why didn't you take him last time…? If you can take him away by force… why…?" Choromastu asked, not because that's what he had wanted but because he wanted to know the difference from that time to this time.

"Ah… that… that's because that time an inconvenience were his lifespan was extended happened" said the man "I couldn't take him away like that, I would have been scolded if I had" after answering this, the man continued his way, leaving the kid shaking his brother's lifeless body.

"Osomatsu…! Please….! Answer me! Osomatsu!" Choromatsu exclaimed as he tried to make him react, however, as he saw this wasn't working, he turned to see the man. "Sir…! Wait!"

The man stopped once again after hearing the kid's shout. Choromatsu looked really desperate, he wanted to run after the man but at the same time, he couldn't just leave his brother's body, he didn't want to separate from him at any time.

"Please! Don't take him away! Please! I don't want to lose my brother!" Choromatsu yelled not being able to restrain his tears. The Shinigami turned to see him and stared with curiosity, he didn't seem to have any pity… he was just there, hearing what he had to say as an act of courtesy. "Give him back! I beg you! Please… it's not fair… Osomatsu…"

"Tell me… if you could choose between a quick death and a slow, horrendously painful one… which one will you choose?" The Shinigami asked. Choromatsu observed the man asking this, why was he asking that…?

"I… I would rather not die in the first place!" Choromatsu answered feeling really hurt. The man was silent, was he considering his answer? Who knew, but, he smiled after a few seconds.

"I see… I guess I was wrong in my way of thinking, I understand, good luck" said the man leaving Choromatsu perplexed, why had he said that? Nonetheless, the man opened a portal and quickly vanished, causing the monochromatic surroundings shift back to their original colors.

Choromatsu remained paralyzed as he noticed his surroundings turning back to being colorful, though… more than surprised for the change, he was shocked for the reality of the situation… he was on the floor with his brother's corpse between his arms, that man had left regardless of his pleading, he had taken Osomatsu away and he had been powerless to do anything about it.

"I… I…" Choromatsu murmured as he trembled with fear and nervousness "I… couldn't do anything…" the third brother hugged his brother's body with shame and broke in tears, he felt desperate, he wanted to scream, he wanted to break something… but he didn't want to accept reality; he felt that if he succumbed to those desires, he would then accept that his brother was really dead. "Osomatsu… wake up… Osomatsu, hey… we have to go back to the room with the others… Osomatsu…" Choromatsu shook his brother's body trying to get him to wake up, as he saw him not responding… he kept crying.

Choromatsu looked in the direction the man had taken, could it be that he could still listen if he talked to him? He wasn't sure but he wanted to try, he had to insist, he didn't want to give up.

"Sir…! Come back! Please! Give my brother back! Please…!" Choromatsu sobbed while saying this, he was doing his best to be able to talk. "I don't want Osomatsu to die… I don't want to lose my brother! Osomatsu!" As he said this, he could feel how his hug was reciprocated freezing him in place.

"Choromatsu… why are you crying?" Osomatsu asked as he hugged him back. Choromatsu couldn't believe it, his brother was hugging him… how was that possible? "Choromatsu…?" Osomatsu prompted once he heard no reply, though now, the one holding a lifeless body was Osomatsu. "Ah!" Osomatsu exclaimed as he felt his brother fainting. Osomatsu laid him down on the floor and waited by his side until he woke up. "Could it be the donation was still affecting him…?" he muttered not knowing, that even though, the donation couldn't have been possible like that, it wasn't the cause for his brother's unconscious state at the moment.

Osomatsu waited several minutes for his brother to wake up while he thought on what had happened, he didn't know what to think about the whole situation… he only knew his brother would probably kill him once he woke up for the scare and concern he had caused him the entire day. While Osomatsu was lost in thought, he suddenly felt how something fell over him; as he opened his eyes, he realized that his brother was on top of him, hugging him like before… it even seemed like he hadn't previously fainted.

"Osomatsu!" Choromatsu exclaimed as he hugged him. He was crying intensely. Osomatsu smiled and hugged him back. "I thought you wouldn't be back! I thought you had left forever!"

"I have the sensation of having been dead for a while…" said Osomatsu while sounding casual about it, he seemed to hear a sound indicating his brother wasn't happy for his way of saying that. "But hey, I'm fine, that's what matters, right?"

Choromatsu stood up once he heard this and frowned, he slapped his head and then held his own head in sign of frustration. Osomatsu looked at him with curiosity as he didn't understand what was happening.

"You made me worry all day, run like a madman… go crazy with your thoughts and weird comments… you even made me faint from a scare… and now you act like it doesn't matter?!" Choromatsu exclaimed as he shook him from the stress he was feeling. "You are an idiot! I hate you! Ughh…!"

"Hahaha, Choromatsu, calm down, everything turned out okay, right?" Osomatsu said this with a nervous smile, he didn't know what to tell him… and well, his brother looked unsure on how he was feeling.

"What the hell is your problem?! People don't just come back to life and that's it! I thought… I thought…" Choromatsu seemed to control his angry as he broke down crying really hurt. Osomatsu hugged him trying to calm him down.

"Choromatsu, I don't plan to die, don't be silly" said Osomatsu as he patted his back trying to help him recover. "By the way, I think you have to eat better, it must be your lack of blood what made you to faint"

"What part of 'people don't just come back to life and that's it' you didn't understand? Osomatsu… you just died… aren't you scared? Aren't you worried for what happened? Why are you smiling like that?!" Choromatsu yelled feeling frustrated.

"Eh? You want me to cry or something?" Osomatsu asked his brother who was clearly pissed but equally sad and frightened.

"It's not that I want you to cry… it's just that I'm scared… It scares me that you act like nothing happened!" said Choromatsu as he frowned at him.

"I don't know… maybe it was because I didn't feel any ill intent from him…" Osomatsu said while looking contemplatively at the place where the man had disappeared. Choromatsu kept looking at him with irritation. "I don't know, but uhm I…"

"I understand" said Choromatsu as he stood up "Well, I'll go ahead to Ichimatsu's room" said the third brother while going towards the door. Osomatsu stood up and looked really confused and worried.

"Wait! Choromatsu! Don't get angry!" Osomatsu yelled to his brother, who without looking, entered the building while slamming the door shut in the process… leaving Osomatsu alone on the rooftop. "Why…?"

Osomatsu looked at the door while wondering… How could everything end like that? What had he done wrong? Why was Choromatsu so angry? The eldest remained asking himself what he had done. Did he say something he shouldn't have? Of course, as he thought about this, he remembered what Karamatsu had said before: _"You may think your feelings are a burden to him but many times is the opposite, we appreciate others worrying about us even if it comes in the form of anger"_

"Following that logic… was he angry because I didn't express anything…?" Osomatsu murmured as he then felt tears trailing down his face. "But I was scared… I just didn't want to scare him more…" the eldest remembered at that moment… Karamatsu's sad expression before he left with Choromatsu. "Karamatsu… Why did you look at me with that expression? I don't understand… I just know that…I can't seem to get things right" Osomatsu murmured as he hid half his face with his arm, he smiled clearly hurt as tears kept falling. "He didn't even let me apologize…"

 **xXxXxXx**

Hours later, Todomatsu left his friend's house, he looked happy for the time he had spent, though… when he noticed it was already sundown, he started to worry. He really disliked when it was dark outside so he hurried home.

"Ah… how awful, I should have left an hour earlier from his house… I hate having to walk home with the pressure of time…" Todomatsu said to himself while running, however, as he felt someone was following him, he decided walk calmly since he didn't want to be suddenly chased… he didn't want to run for his life… although this meant he couldn't head home anymore.

Todomatsu walked while feeling the presence of the other person, he turned in every corner with the intention of losing him, but… as he felt he was still being watched intently and realizing it was getting more and more dark, he dediced to face whoever it was; maybe it was someone with no relevance, he just didn't want to roam the streets while it was night.

"I know you are following me! Come out already!" Todomatsu exclaimed as he turned and yelled. "Come on! It's useless for you to hide! Chibita, if it's you I swear I will…!" before realizing, he had been lifted up by an arm and had a shotgun pointing at him. "Eh…?"

"Hmm, I swear what?" said a voice with mockery and malice really close to his ear. Todomatsu remained paralyzed as he listened to the unknown voice… it seems he shouldn't have stopped walking…

"I… W-who are you…?" Todomatsu asked nervously as he felt the weapon poking against his temple; the voice's owned seemed to find it funny.

"Come on; don't tell me you forgot already… I know the injection wasn't that effective to make you forget" said the man. Todomatsu thought about it but… an injection? What was he talking about?

"Uhhh, sir… I don't know what you are talking about…" Todomatsu murmured as he felt the danger, however, he knew it couldn't last long as they were on a street where someone could come by sooner or later; he was waiting nervously for someone to pass by.

"Don't play with me, kid, I let you go the other day but it won't be the same this time" said the man. Todomatsu was getting impatient since he felt that if the conversation continued, he would be putting himself in more danger

"No, I really don't know what you are talking about" said Todomatsu as he quivered, what was he supposed to do? Why was this happening? Unfortunately, he wasn't allowed to think anymore as the man was hitting him with the shotgun, not brusquely but with enough force against his temple to bother him. "Stop…! Stop!"

"You don't know…? I know what I said in the hospital, child, even so… the boss ordered me to kill you just in case" said the man. Todomatsu was scared but he was still trying to remember something, anything that had to do with what was happening… but no, he really didn't know the man… although… hospital? Todomatsu tried deciphering why that sounded familiar…

"What? When did that happen? I haven't been at the hospital!" Todomatsu exclaimed while trying to wriggle out of his hold. "Let me go! You have the wrong person!"

"Heh, sure I do… another person identical to you? Of course… good try kid but I'm gonna have to dispose of you" said the man. Todomatsu was surprised to hear this. An identical person…?

"Wait! An identical person…? The person you speak of was identical to me?" Todomatsu asked trying to confirm his suspicions. The man hit him again, not fond of the young one keeping up the act.

"What are you trying to do, kid? It doesn't matter how many times you try telling me it wasn't you, you won't manage to convince me" said the man "Besides, you already saw me, even if I was mistaken, I would have to kill you now anyway"

Todamatsu was immobile after confirming what he thought… it had all the sense in the world, but… something like that? Jyushimatsu had gone through something like that…? Todomatsu suddenly didn't feel well, he felt nauseous and guilt, he felt really bad for not having gone to the hospital after school… why had he gone to play to his friend's house instead of going with everybody else…?


End file.
